


Chords of Life

by CaptivatingLadySpinel



Series: My Inner Circle Heart [2]
Category: Winner (Band), YG Entertainment | YG Family
Genre: A bit of supernatural happenings, Assassins, F/M, Falling in love through music, Family, Memories, Music, Secret Agent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-10-03 17:42:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20456876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptivatingLadySpinel/pseuds/CaptivatingLadySpinel
Summary: A story is told.A life is reminisced.A song is played.A couple reunites.





	1. A story. Rebirth

**Author's Note:**

> This is another of the stories I posted as KurosakiMafuyu in Asianfanfics. 
> 
> It holds a special place in my heart because it embodies my feelings when I listened to the album Arche from Dir en Grey. It's a rock Japanese band, in case you want to listen to them. Bit of a warning that their music is not for everybody. 
> 
> Prepare a couple of tissues for the last chapters if you are a crybaby like me, lol.
> 
> Also, be prepared and aware of the warnings in this fic. It's not gruesome but I don't want people getting triggered by a couple of topics here. It's not bad but exercise caution, my dears :D
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

The weather was nice that day. The sky was clear and a chilling breeze blew preventing any heat wave to reign over the surroundings. The branches of the trees swayed from left to right, up and down as if creating a methodical dance. There was no sound of the usual civilization like cars passing by, the hurried walk of people on the sidewalk, music or street vendors; only the sound of birds chirping, hidden between the dancing branches. Only trees and animals around may sound a bit desolate but there was a square of a different color in the middle of this forest. A pretty big square that resulted to be a house.

One of those courtyard houses from ancient times but are still seen in many towns with the huge gate in the entrance that even a truck can enter. Beyond the gate was a path that went up and was surrounded by trees and bushes from where colorful flowers were starting to bloom. The path extended for over 100 meters just to end in a flatland. There was a somewhat big pond to the right, the pond that was a natural feature of the landscape so it was already there before someone decided to create a house right beside it. The house, was a one-story house, but it had all the magnificence of the traditional Korean architecture.

The roof that raised like a triangle was decorated by grey tiles. Sturdy pillars held the whole construction. Wooden floors, windows, doors, walls painted in white as if the wood itself was in that color. Many halls that meander right or left heading to countless rooms that anyone can think they are just unnecessary but they all had a purpose for being there. A yard full of flowers and small trees was located right in the middle of this courtyard house and in the back part of it, there was a stone path that leaded to a pavilion with the same colors and materials from the house.

It was a well-kept house, always clean and everything was in its place. The main room was after crossing the entrance hall. It was really spacious and naturally illuminated as all the doors that lead to the courtyard were removed. A gentle breeze blew carrying some leaves from the trees around. Generally, the house would remain quite with only the sound of the fauna filling the air, but at the moment, there was a big commotion in that house. Cars, one by one were arriving, ones small and others quite big. It was becoming quite cheerful in this remotely located house in which the only inhabitants were just an old man and the person who took care of him.

The main entrance remained open due to the many people who kept coming in. The fifth car to arrive was with a family of five, including the parents and three kids between the ages of 4 and 8. The kids, seeing the house, were so excited as it was their first time visiting it. So they ran from here to there completely ignoring the yelling of the mother who was unloading the boxes from their car.

"Kids! Please come here so you can meet your grandpa!" Yelled the lady for the last time, finally getting the attention of the two girls and the boy who were looking at the pond fascinated. The three immediately ran into the house following their mother who was leading them to the biggest room in the house where the old man was waiting for them sitting on his favorite chair watching the trees in the courtyard.

"Grandpa!" They said in unison and approaching the man who was already forming a smile on his wrinkled face.

"Well, look, who do we have here?" He asked with his aged voice.

"It's nice to see you again grandpa." Said the woman with a bow. The old man was actually the woman's grandfather and the kids' great-grandfather but as he had said to his other great-grandchildren, he just wanted to be called grandfather, even when he was beyond 90 years.

"Oh, it's little Chae. Are these your kids?" He asked looking at the faces of the kids who were looking at their grandpa with curious eyes.

"Yes, grandpa. This is Eun Ji, she's the eldest, then it's Hyun Ju, and last Ji Hye." She said with a smile. She was happy to see the faces of her kids who were practically staring at their grandpa and couldn't wait to shower him with questions. "Oh, I think someone else has come. I haven't even greeted the ones who are already here. Grandpa, can you keep an eye on them while I'm away? I'm sure that more kids will come but for the time being stay with them, please."

"Go, go. I may be old but I am not useless yet." He waved his hand to make the woman leave.

"Grandpa! I'm 8 years old. How old are you?" Asked the eldest of the kids, Eun Ji. The others just looked at him waiting for the answer.

"Ah, this old man is too old to even remember his own age." He said with a mystical tone.

"Are you more than 100 years old?" Asked the youngest who had been trying to guess his age inside her mind. They were indeed too young, seeing a man this old was a first for them so they were deeply curious. The old man laughed at the girl's bold words. He thought that he wouldn't even reach the century. He was beginning to get deaf from one ear and his sight would often get blurry. Together with his frequent colds and pains that his body was accumulating, he was getting weaker and weaker each day.

"Grandpa tell us a story!" Exclaimed the boy all of a sudden. Though not really all of a sudden as they had been waiting for their grandpa to answer if he really was over 100 years old, but as they got no reply then he ventured to ask for a story.

"Ah? You want to see my aegyo?" The old man joked making the kids laugh.

"A story, grandpa. You must have done many things and had many adventures." Corrected the boy. In their childish minds, an elder meant someone full of stories to tell as they have lived really long to have as many as they want.

"Hmm, ok, this old man's life has been really boring so I'll tell you a story of a friend of mine, who had a friend and that friend had a friend, at the same time this friend had a friend whose friend-"

"Grandpa!" The three whined in unison making the old man laugh.

"Ok, let's just say it's a friend. It happened many years ago when he was studying in England..."

  


…

  


It was one of the coldest nights in Newcastle, but that didn't prevent the fans to go see the match of their home team, Newcastle, against another one of the Premier League. The chanting, the screams, the whistles and the beer were common in St. James stadium as the fans were celebrating the win of their team. The revelry lasted from the beginning to the end of the match and continued even after this with the fans filled with extreme rapture. It was common for many to remain in the compound cheering for the players even when that meant leaving the place late at night.

This group of friends were one of the many that stayed behind until the last minute of the celebration. It was close to midnight and the alcohol in their bodies was starting to make effect, together with the desired effect of keeping them a bit warm as the weather was really cold. But with their thick coats that helped to keep them warm, added to that the joy of the victory, they were far from feeling cold. As they walked on the pleasantly illuminated sidewalk, they were chatting over what happened in the game. This group of friends was no more than 26 years old, the youngest being 22, all studying the same career. Music.

The University of Newcastle was re-known for being one of the most famous in England, so the plan of studies in it was really strict. Though, that didn't stop many youngsters, like them, to enjoy their youth. And supporting the team of their city was one of the few distractions they allowed themselves in their life full of responsibilities to come or already present. Each of these five youngsters came from a family in which music is everything to them so, it became some sort of tradition in their households and as the next generation, they weren't exempt of this tradition. They all had the same fate.

Four of them got on the bus they were waiting for to take them near the apartment they were renting while leaving the last one alone as he had to walk back to his room in the campus. Seeing his friends leave, he sighed in envy. How he wished to live in an apartment with his friends. But his family didn't approve of anything that would result in a distraction for his studies. He sighed for the last time and began his way back. It was a fortune that he didn't have classes the following day as all he wanted to do was sleep until late.

He could have easily taken the short path from the stadium to the university that was almost beside it, but he decided to take a walk in Leazes Park. He really loved that park. It was a complete fantasy during each season. The thousands of flowers blooming in Spring, the many people doing countless activities in Summer, the typical yellow and brown colors of the leaves in Autumn and the white landscape in Winter were just a few of the reasons he loved it. Every thing in it was as if taken out of a fairy tale and even when it rained almost everyday, it didn't cloak the beauty of the Park.

The best part of it was that it was open at all times so he could go there whenever he wanted to without the fear of something bad happening to him. Whenever he thought of that park and the fortune of having a scholarship in the prestigious Newcastle University he couldn't be happier, but at the same time he could feel the burden it implied. Not only he had to graduate with the highest honors in the University to make his family, full of famous musicians, prouder than they already are but the reason was to actually graduate in the university his parents attended.

And that meant that as soon as he set foot in that place, everybody already knew him and that only created expectations he needed to fulfill; not only to his teachers but to the students who knew the work of his parents and just wanted to hang out with him by convenience. All the willfulness and good disposition with which he entered the university instantly disappeared when he saw himself in that situation. It was full of stress, eyes on him, expectations, and even boot-licking. That just made his career so unpleasant that there were times he just wanted to throw everything to the drain and begin anew.

Music had always been his passion and not only because of his parents’ influence but also because it was the most sublime way to convey feelings. It wasn't surprising to know that he preferred classical music and that his favorite instrument to hear was the cello, though he played the piano. He liked the combination of the changing melodies of the piano with the deep strings of the cello. And many of his classmates, who played the cello, would frequently ask him to make a duet. He accepted with a smile and finished the practice with a smile; but in his heart, it wasn't it.

He was looking for a cello that didn't follow any sheet music but one that truly felt. That was what he yearned for as he knew that the day he would find that person then that would be the day he would exploit all his talent. Talent that many fawn but he knows they are all empty words.

As he walked in the park, he decided to take a look at the lake. It was winter so the snow was piled up on the road, meaning, the lake had a thin layer of ice that would sparkle with the moonlight or the lights from the lampposts. When he was about to reach the path that would take him to the lake, he heard a pleasant sound. He knew that sound. For some reason, he was attracted by it and the idea of going to the lake faded away as soon as that sound reached his ears.

The bow slid on the strings that made your eyes follow it. It moved in a delicate yet firm way that made the notes sound more than perfect. The fingers went up and down and twisted according to the notes and chords meant to be played. And the result of that combination made a masterpiece, something beyond the human to create, or more like something that hadn't been created yet. Because those notes and chords were unknown to him.

That melodious sound that filled the air transported him to a far away place where he felt naked. He felt himself float in his purest state, able to feel everything around him: the wind drifting away a leaf, the ice becoming thicker, a brave bird who wanted to fight against the chilling weather, the gentle breeze everywhere. The whole universe flowed in his surroundings while he just stood there, not moving an inch so he wouldn't disrupt the requiem of his rebirth. At that moment, he was reborn as the musician he wanted to be.

He had found it.

When the music stopped, he opened the eyes he had closed unconsciously and looked for the source of such rhapsody. Because he couldn't explain it otherwise; every note and chord were played with such feeling that he felt as a mere mortal before an exalted divine figure. His very own soul was touched and all he wanted was to leave his imperfect body and join the sounds like a vital stream ready to collapse in the universe and become one with it. His steps halted when he reached a part of the park where there were some structures that looked as drops falling on water.

And he saw her.

She was still static, holding her bow in her right hand and her left hand still holding the last chord on the strings. She looked like a sculpture, part of the park's decoration. Her cello mingled with the white landscape as it was also white, excluding the pegs, fingerboard and tail piece. She was also dressed in white and her clothes would make anyone think that she was insane as she was only wearing a long white coat; no one could guess if she was wearing something underneath it.

Her black fell barely touching her shoulders, decorating her head and framing a small face with thin eyebrows, a small nose and thin, rosy lips. But the surprising thing was that she was barefooted.

After some minutes contemplating her strange figure, he took a step which alerted her that someone was there, making her open her eyes, showing a pair of stunning blue eyes -as blue as the summer sky- looking at the person in front of her. A young man, no more than 24 years old, tall and a nice build. His face features indicated that he was Asian, including those thick and elegant eyebrows above a pair of expressive black eyes, that simple yet well-formed nose, those small and thick lips gave him an air of an aristocrat of the Asian culture. Everything in him was in its right place.

Technically speaking, they both had the features of being Asian but her blue eyes revealed that she was half. Yet that just gave a charming air around her that made everybody who passed beside her, turn to have a second look.

"Hello." She said in a calm voice.

"Hi." His voice turned out to be deep.

"Were you passing by?" With calmed movements, she began to put the cello and the bow in the case she had beside her.

"Ah, yeah, I was... I was walking back to my room." He was having difficulties forming a coherent sentence after going through that marvelous state from before.

"You live near? It's pretty late so I guess you should." After putting the instrument in the case, she proceeded to put on her shoes that he didn't notice from where she took them out.

"Yeah, I, I live, study in the university near here, so yeah, I live near." He mentally smacked himself for acting like a fool but he couldn't help it. She slightly smiled at him and sat on the cold ground not taking her eyes off the young man.

"So you're a student. My name is Rei. What's yours?" She practically ignored the conditions of the situation; past midnight, cold weather and the fact that she was wearing inappropriate clothes to even sit on the ground, and started having a conversation with him. Not that he complained as she was the very person he wanted to play together with in a duet. He had already found the person with whom he could play to his heart's content without the pressure of others acknowledging or not.

"Min Ho Song." He replied, now even more enthusiastic.

"You want me to call you by your surname or your name?" The question was asked with such a calm tone that he didn't notice the hint of sarcasm in it. Seeing that he didn't understand why she was asking that plus his confused face, she continued. "You told me your whole name so either you are expecting me to call you by your whole name, your surname or by your name. Which one is it?"

MinHo was a bit taken aback. She was so direct in her words as he was used to the flattery way people addressed him that indirectly led to whatever the person wanted. He didn't consider her behavior bad nor refreshing, just something he never imagined he would happen to see, or in this case hear.

"My friends call me Mino, so it's ok if you call me like that." He replied with a smile. Hoping to demonstrate his good will towards her.

"So you are trying to make me become your friend?" Mino was about to explain but her words didn't let him. "You are an interesting guy. Ok, since you have caught my attention. I will let you hear something good. Come."

Mino hesitated a bit when she patted the ground beside her, clearly indicating him so sit there. He was wearing warm clothes so he thought that there wouldn't be a problem if he did so. But, the first thing that crossed his mind was that it was a horrible idea as the moment he touched the ground; a shiver ran through his body and he could feel that he could catch a cold anytime. Though, seeing her calm state on that cold environment made him feel a bit embarrassed and he decided to endure as the man he was.

He waited for the good thing she told him he would be able to hear but it wasn't until after a few minutes of being silent that he heard it. It wasn't in the least anything he expected to hear, much less in that kind of place and at that time with that weather. By the bushes, behind them, it could be heard how a couple were comforting each other in the most ecstatic and hottest way.

"Next time, let me take you to Italy to rip this red dress of yours. You really make me crazy that I can't wait." Said the man in a rushed and more than obvious lustful voice to which the woman could only reply with a moan.

Mino was petrified in his place. Not even in his wildest imagination, he could have imagined the ‘good thing’ was the scene developing behind him. It was his favorite park and the fact people went there just to do that kind of stuff made it lose the charm in it. He just hoped that he would never ever again encounter another couple like that one the times he wishes to walk at night. It would definitely not be comfortable at all.

"Let's give them some privacy." He heard a soft voice say, but he reacted moments later when the owner of that voice was already far away from him. He wanted to catch up but she had already disappeared from there as if her existence had turned into smoke and dissipated in the air. Mino wouldn't doubt if that was the case as everything he went through those last moments had been like a dream to him.

He heavily sighed and just continued his way back. When he arrived to his room, he took a warm shower to prevent himself from catching a cold as a result of sitting on the cold ground and then he slipped into his bed to instantly fall asleep. The next day, he woke up at noon and with a hangover. He heated some food he had in cases when he didn't want to go out to the cafeteria to eat and ate while watching the news in his little TV.

"Early this morning, the corpse of one the leaders of one of the most famous gangster organizations in Europe that is rooted in Italy was found in the room of a hotel. It is presumed that he was killed, although no evidence of such crime has been found. The police has opened an investigation for the case of murder yet the government itself said that it wasn't really necessary due to the condition of a wanted criminal the man possessed. We will provide more details in the emission at night." Said the reporter.


	2. Mischief. A prodigy

"Grandpa! Don't fall asleep!" Yelled the kids when they noticed their grandpa was dozing off.

"Eh? Ah? What? What's going on?" The old man woke up startled by the yelling and looked around to finally put his eyes on the kids in front of him. "Since when you multiplied? How come now there's 6 kids now?" He looked at the kids with a puzzled face.

"They have been here almost from the beginning of the story." Explained Eun Ji, the eldest of all the kids. Around them everything was really cheerful and many people walked from here to there carrying many things from one place to another. There was obviously more people than before. Many more relatives from the old man had arrived and between those were the parents of the new kids that were in front of him. A set of twins of 7 years and a boy of 3 years old. Just like his other granddaughter, others also left the kids to him while they helped in the house.

"Oi, gramps! Where are you?!" A noisy teen yelled from the entrance and then hurried steps filled the hallway until they reached the place where the old man was with the kids.

"Oh, if it isn't Ja 'Full of Charms' Ryung!" Exclaimed the old man seeing the youth standing in front of him with a smile almost similar to his.

Everybody in the family said that Ja Ryung was the carbon copy of the old man when he was young. The only difference was that the 17-year-old teen was paler and his eyebrows were thinner, but apart from that they were pretty much the same. Due to that fact, grandfather and grandson created such a good relationship that every time they were together it was like seeing two mischievous kids. Of course, they couldn't do much with their jokes due to the old man's age but that didn't prevent him from being the mastermind behind all the mischief in the family.

"I'm way over that, gramps! It's embarrassing now," Ja Ryung said with a frown on his face. "By the way, since when you became the babysitter in the family?" He joked making both laugh. It basically looked that way as there were many kids around the old man.

"Believe me that not even I know!" He laughed. "Oh yeah, one of your aunts told me that she needs help with something back in that room." The teen grunted pondering which aunt was starting with his torture that arrived every year whenever they gathered together like that, and he just walked where the old man pointed. Moments later, all that could be heard were screams from several women and someone running. In the hallway, an old man was laughing to his heart's content seeing the flushed face on his grandson when coming back.

"You got me this time, gramps!" The youth said, the image of some of his aunts and cousins changing their clothes to be more comfortable when arranging everything still lingering in his mind. "And, what are you doing?"

"Ah, telling a story."

"Don't tell me it's that same story you told me back when I was a kid?"

"The same! You know my life has been so simple that there hasn't been anything interesting." The old man sighed. Ja Ryung was about to say something but the yelling of his mom telling him to unpack his things interrupted him.

"Well, I'll leave you for now. And you, pay attention to the story!" He pointed at the kids who were attentively listening to the two talking. "Everybody in this family has grown up listening to that story." He winked before leaving.

"Ok, where was I?" Asked the old man turning to look at the kids.

"The woman told him she was going to make him listen something good." Replied Eun Ji. She got more curious about the story as she realized that they were not the only ones who had listened to it.

"Oh, there... well, let's skip that. After the encounter he couldn't see her again…"

  


…

  


One week. It had been one week since Mino last saw the woman that opened his eyes regarding to music. Many times, he went to the park and the same spot where he found her, at the same time but it was in vain as there were no traces of her. He constantly thought that it was all his imagination and that maybe the alcohol and the coldness of that night made him hallucinate for some minutes. He even thought that perhaps it was due to some illness so he went to the infirmary of the University to get a check-up but there was nothing wrong with his body.

He didn't have another choice but to explain his friends about the woman named Rei that he met due to his recent refusals to play with another person. Since he arrived at that university, everybody was all over him and time didn't help in making the excitement vanish as each year, the new students would always come with the same enthusiasm and hope to make a duet with him. But that changed when the day after he met Rei, he publicly announced that he wasn't going to accept anyone to play duets with.

"Rei? Hmm, I'm not sure I’have heard that name before. Is she that good? Are you sure you were not extremely drunk? I mean, if what you say is true then she must be really famous. Maybe she told you a fake name." Said Andrea, an Italian guy who was one of his closest friends. The group of five friends consisted of an Italian, a German, two English and him a Korean. As the university was famous, then it wasn't a surprise to see many foreigners studying there.

"Yeah, that's most likely. How does she look? Maybe we have seen her before." Asked their German friend, Wetzel. The five of them were in downtown, specifically in a music store. As music students, then they would usually hang out in that place. Also, as music lovers, it was a pleasure for them to have CD's or whatnot that proved their love for the art.

"Hmm, she was actually short, at most 1.65m. White skin, short black hair, her features were mostly Asian but what really stands out in her are her blue eyes." Replied Mino with a smile on his face. The other four looked at each other after hearing their friend's description. It wasn't the best description they had heard but it was the way in which he said it. It was almost as if he was talking about a person way up from this world, something untouchable.

"Could it be Lee Rei?" Said all of a sudden Jaden, one of the English guys, breaking the silence that had formed.

"You know her?" Mitchell asked surprised. The others also looked at Jaden in astonishment though Mino had an expectant look.

"Well, not actually know her. But there is a girl here that somewhat matches Mino’s description." Jaden grabbed a CD that was right in front of him and passed it to his friends who hastily grabbed it.

"No way! It's this Lee Rei?!" Exclaimed Wetzel widening his eyes as big as plates. "Dude! Lee Rei is a prodigy! This is her first and only CD she released when she was but 12! They say all her songs were self-composed and are compared with the ones from famous compositors like Beethoven or Mozart. Some even say that they are even better, like a kind of melody which can only be heard in Heaven; of course I don't think they know how Heaven sounds but you can imagine just how good her music is."

"Don't joke Wetzel. If she is such a prodigy, then she must be renown worldwide. But neither of us knew about her." Mitchell frowned.

"I remember I read something regarding her going missing months after she released her CD. Nobody knew of her whereabouts afterwards." Mumbled Andrea while looking at the cover in the CD which portrayed a girl holding a cello and smiling brightly. "Don't tell me, it's her ghost?" They all turned to see Mino with pitiful faces thinking that their friend was being haunted by a ghost, a prodigy, but a ghost at the end.

"Ai, I don't think she was a ghost. She looked pretty real." Said Mino not really believing his own words. The moment he heard the word 'ghost', he remembered that he tried to follow her yet she had disappeared like smoke. His friends laughed loudly gaining a few glances from other customers in the store. Mino looked once more at the CD Andrea handed him and after thinking for a moment, he decided to buy it. He was going to confirm if it was her or not. About the ghost thing, he wouldn't know until he met her again, if possible.

As it was Saturday night, they decided to go to a bar to have a few drinks and get warm. The weather was in no way getting better, and they had to wear pounds of clothes just to remain warm to not catch a cold. That winter had been really unpleasant for the residents of the city but it was not the first time it happened, so they could only cope with it. When they got inside the bar, the group of friends looked for a table and sat taking off their scarfs and mitts before asking the closest waitress for a round of beers.

Minutes later, they were all laughing and making random talk about their classes and even about the girls in their courses. In their career, the presence of women was not lacking, instead it was abundant so they practically had from where to choose. They talked about one of the seniors that Andrea liked. It was an English woman with wavy blond hair and green eyes.

The other four challenged him to make her his girlfriend in less than a week. If he could do it, then they would make his homework for the time their relationship lasted. If he wasn't able to do it, then he would have to ask Old Ness, the lady from the cafeteria, out on a date.

He was risking a lot in that bet, overall, his face and reputation as one of the most handsome guys in the career. But it was the same reputation that made him have confidence to win and he immediately accepted. As they continue drinking, the night grew darker and they drunker. In their excitement, they didn't notice when the lights of the bar got dimmer. It was until Wetzel spit the beer he was drinking on his friends that they realized what was going on. Their friend looked pale and his face had a terrible expression as if he had seen something he wasn't supposed to see.

They all turned to where he was looking at and soon they all had the same expression as Wetzel. If it wasn't because they had talked about it, then they wouldn't have been that surprised but that was not the case. They were all seeing the same woman their friend, Mino, was talking about and they all believed was a ghost. Lee Rei was sitting on the little stage of the bar holding a white cello ready to perform.

"It's her." Mino whispered. They all nodded even if they knew he wasn't seeing because the five had their eyes on her.

The moment she began to play it was as if the bar was not just a simple bar. All the people present were transported to one of those luxurious concert halls with tall walls, fine seats, carved stone and a huge stage. The bow danced rhythmically over the strings and the movement of the fingers that did the chords were smooth as if she was placing them on silk. The melody enveloped every costumer and staff, sending them to their own world with their own thoughts. The ones who didn't know her wouldn't believe if they were told that she was once famous but the group of friends knew and they were the most surprised by her music.

When she stopped, an eerie silent fell as she remained in the same position when she played the last chord for some seconds before looking at her audience, putting her cello away, standing up and leaving the stage. Everybody’s gaze followed her until one person finally took up the courage to approach her. And that person was Mino, who had already experienced her music and woke up from the trance before the other customers.

"Rei!" He called out as they exited the bar. She turned around and for a second she had a puzzled face looking at him.

"Oh, it's MinHo Song." She said finally remembering. Mino was delighted that she was able to remember him though it was awkward for him to be called by his whole name. "What's up? You were in that bar from before?" She asked pointing at the entrance of the bar.

"Yeah, I was with some friends and we listened to you play. It was awesome." He said starting to sound like a fanboy seeing his idol. "Ah, and, I heard a few things about you..." He scratched the back of his head finally noticing that it was cold and he didn't have his scarf. He also noticed that, like before, she was only wearing a white long coat, a pair of boots and the case from her cello on her back. She didn't look cold in the slightest!

"What things?" For a moment he saw her eyes turned so sharp as if whatever he was about to say would immediately kill him. He swallowed with great difficulty and continued speaking.

"About you being a prodigy with the cello and that you released a CD." He secretly let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that she relaxed.

"Oh, so it was that. It's been 10 years from that." Her face had a hint of nostalgia mixed with sadness.

"I..." He mumbled not sure what he wanted to say. "I want to propose you something."

"I hope it's not a marriage proposal because I'm not ready for that step." She joked and then laughed seeing the flustered face of the man in front of her.

"No, nothing like that. It's about doing a duet with you. I play the piano and have always looked for someone to make a duet with and that person is you." He said determined. "Can we meet another day to talk about it?" Her face turned stern as she heard him talk about doing a duet so she kept silent after his question.

"Sure thing. Just meet me in the same place." She turned around and waved her hand not expecting a reply from him. Her steps were quick and soon she disappeared from Mino's sight but this time he didn't follow her. He was ecstatic knowing she had accepted to play together with him that he even forgot the cold weather around him and stood there in that frozen sidewalk.

After the exchange, he went back to his friends, telling them what happened beween Rei and him. They drank their last round of beers between teasing words from the other four towards Mino. Soon, they went back to their apartment and room in the university respectively. Mino was pondering about the place she meant with 'the same' while he was laying on his bed but he soon fell asleep and didn't wake up until late the next day missing the hustle and bustle of sirens from ambulances and police cars near the university. Next day, he spent almost the whole day thinking about the said meeting place. They had just met twice and he wasn't sure which place she was talking about.

That's why he seemed nervous and insecure when he presented himself at Leazes Park almost at midnight that night. The weather was cold as always, plus being windy so he was freezing there. In his mind, there were thoughts of maybe having made a mistake and she meant the bar not the park but he was already there so he was going to keep waiting. Truthfully speaking, he didn't know what place and what time. It was just a hunch he had that's why he was standing there beside that weird sculpture of the park where he listened her play for the first time.

"You're here early." A voice behind him startled him and he quickly turned just to find the person he was waiting for.

"Ah, yeah, I was beginning to think that maybe I got the wrong place." He laughed but she didn't do the same so it turned awkward.

"So, where is your piano? I thought you wanted to play." She ignored his comment and went straight to the point. It almost seemed as if she didn't want to be there.

"I play the Grand Piano, so I think it would be troublesome to have it brought here. So, why don't you come to the university with me?" He was getting more nervous seeing how she was behaving.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to go there; it was either here or nowhere." She turned around and was about to leave when Mino grabbed her hand.

"Wait! Eh?" Holding her hand, he noticed that she had bandaged it. "What happened to you?" She pulled her hand surly and took a few steps back. She was tense and was looking at him suspiciously. Mino was surprised by her actions and immediately raised his hands in sign of peace. "I'm sorry if I hurt you." He apologized and the tense atmosphere lasted for some seconds before she finally eased. Mino let out a sigh. "It is going to be difficult to bring a Grand Piano out of the university and mine is back in Korea. Then, for tonight, can we at least talk?"

"About what?" Her body was not on-guard like before but she still didn't approach him.

"Please, don't be like this in front of me. It makes me think that I'm a criminal taking advantage of an innocent woman." Rei smirked and Mino took it as if the comment had lightened up the mood. "We can just talk about music, you can tell me how you do it to play like that, you can ask me whatever you want." To make the atmosphere even more comfortable between the two, he even sat on the cold ground like before and looking at her, he pat the space beside him to let her know that she could trust him. She sat after a few seconds and he wasn't surprised anymore by her light clothes despite the weather.

The whole night, the one who spoke the most was Mino as he noticed she wouldn't say more than the reason why she plays like she does. 'I just do it' was her answer and all her talk finished there. Mino told her about the reason why he was studying music, the pressure from his parents to become famous like them, the many times he hated why he was playing, how she makes him feel when she plays and how he felt when he heard her the first time. He even ventured to tell her about his childhood, his strict childhood when he had to spent at least 6 hours before a piano to be able to play like how he does.

And it was all because of that that he was considered a genius. He mocked himself saying that he was no genius, it was all due to his hard work and few hours of sleep that made him get to where he was. Of course, at first it was gratifying because he loved the piano but then it turned like shackles. Not being able to break free from the road his parents had paved for him. It was not something he had created and that was why he wanted to play a duet with her. To feel the innocence and truthfulness of music again.

Rei just listened to him attentively, barely blinking as she stared at him.

When was the last time she had 'talked' with someone? She practically looked like a child who was hearing the most fantastic story in the world and seeing her act like that was as if she hadn't come out to the world in years. Mino noticed that and in his mind many questions about her began to form. What exactly happened when she went missing? Where had she been? What had she been doing? Why hadn't she appeared before everybody again? And why does she act like the whole world is her enemy? Indeed, the Lee Rei in front of him was not the same as 10 years ago, but what happened in those 10 years?


	3. 10 years

November, 2005

"Let me out! Please, let me out!" Cried out a 12 year-old girl in a dark room. The floor was cold and she was only wearing her pajamas. It all happened so fast that night. She was sleeping on her warm bed in her house in London then, the door abruptly opened as various masked men entered her room to seize her. She tried to resist and yell but a heavy fist fell on her stomach leaving her gasping for air and falling unconscious.

When she opened her eyes, an acute pain pierced her stomach product of the previous hit as she stood up with great difficulty. The room she was in smelled horrible. The stench of blood, putrefaction and sewer made her throw up and fall feebly on her knees. After she emptied her stomach, she attempted to stand up again. After probing the walls of the place due to the null sight, she noticed she was in a minuscule room, a cell. She found the door and immediately began to bang it.

"Someone! Let me out!" She banged that door and screamed for hours until her voice turned coarse and she felt that she was going to lose her mind at any minute. Hours later, there was no sound anymore, just a weak knocking on the door and a girl laying on the floor. She wasn't sure how long she had been there but she was hungry and although she had gotten used to the stench of the place, she knew that if she was given some food, she wouldn't hold it.

Time flew and the cell became quiet as if nobody was there but inside, a skeletal girl with rats roaming around her and weakly breathing was laying on the floor. Her eyes were dim, her clothes dirty, her hair all messy and without luster, her face portraying the meaning of death itself. When she was about to close her eyes to fall asleep once again hoping that it was all a dream, the door finally opened. She closed her eyes due to the bright light as someone picked her up and took her to another place.

She was so weak that she immediately fainted before being abruptly woken up with freezing water. She opened her eyes but they immediately hurt because of the light so she squinted trying to figure out where she was. It was again a dark room but the only difference was the light on her, she was on a stretcher with a catheter on her hand connected to a pack of serum. She tried to move but she had no strength for that. She also tried to speak but her vocal chords were so damaged that no sound came out from her mouth.

"Well, well, it seems you woke up." Said a voice that belonged to a man. He was dressed in black and wearing a mask and a cap so she couldn't see who he was. "You will remain here resting until you can move." He announce before exiting the room and leaving her there. She just looked up to the dim light and quietly cried the few tears she had. Days later and thanks to the serum, she regained some strength but kept looking skeletal. The same man dragged her out of the room and put her inside another one which was bigger and had lines of beds in it. He threw her to one of the beds and then went out.

She looked around the place and noticed it was a big, white room with old beds and two doors in the extremes. One from where she entered, as for the other one, she stood up to know where it took just to find that the room behind the door was like one of those public baths she saw on TV, with toilets on one side and showers on the other. She returned to the room and walked around the place. She found a little mirror resting on a table next to a bed and looked at herself. Her appearance was dreadful. She could see the bones standing out on her face, her hair was so hard to the touch and her lips were cracked.

The door opened again, scaring her and instantly leaving the mirror in its place. A rough lady entered pushing a trolley. There was a horrible scar going from her right ear to her chin that made her look even more terrifying. Glancing at the girl, she muttered a short 'eat' before leaving. On the trolley, there was a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. The moment she saw the food, she instantly devoured it not caring about the pain in her throat. Then, she just sat down on the same bed she was thrown at. Minutes later, the same woman entered to take away the trolley.

January, 2006

Her appearance didn't look pitiful anymore but bruises, cuts, black eyes and bandages adorned her body. They were all product of the abuses of her roommates and training she was forced to do. She shared the same room with other 5 boys and 3 girls, all seemed older than her. She was just told to follow instructions and do as everybody did which was being their punchbag or run for her life in any forest they were taken to without knowing how. She was given a simple pair of grey pants, a white shirt and some old snickers. The same the others used.

"Hey, pretty eyes, want to train with me again? I surely have fun punching that scrawny body of yours." Said a guy much taller than her. The other guys just laughed and couldn't wait to see the show. Many times, she ended up like a mummy with the many bandages wrapped in her body due to the many broken bones. Luckily, the past few days she just had a few bruises and a swollen eye. She had gotten used to being bullied but she wouldn't let other do whatever they wanted so, if she could, she would dodge a few punches or kicks.

But during training was not the only time she was abused. Back in the room or while she was showering, many times she would be forced to have relations with any of the guys. The other girls didn't care and even looked for the guys. At night, from time to time, there were moaning from a couple who were having their time without caring about the others. So she was not pure anymore. She didn't even know why she was enduring that kind of treatment, her mind was about to collapse but she still continued with that type of life.

Maybe the fact that she hadn't seen her parents and wanted to know if they were well was the only reason she continued or maybe because she wanted to know why she was suffering all that, where she was and who the people that had her there were. One day she found some answers after training. They were using knives as weapons, when she plucked out an eye from the guy that abused her the previous night while she was taking a shower. He was laying on the ground, a pool of blood forming around him and he was cursing at her.

She looked down at him with a sharp and cold gaze that was filled with killing intent. The others just looked at the scene for some seconds and then continued with their stuff. Even when they lived together, it didn't mean they had to get along so their personalities were as crooked and frivolous as a maniac.

The same man that took her with the group entered the room and dragged her out. She thought that she was going to be punished for what she did but great was her surprise when she was taken to a bright white room with a table and two chairs. The man made her sit on one of the chairs and he sat across her. She could finally see his face as he took off his mask and cap. He was a handsome man.

"Why did you do that?" He asked in a monotone voice. She looked down and pressed her lips. She hadn't spoken for a long time but she knew she still had voice due to the screams from the times she was raped.

"I..." Her voice was coarse and broken so she cleared her throat in an attempt to make it sound better but it was for naught. "I don't know."

"That's not the answer I want." He said with a hint of anger that made her shiver. Just a few words and the man in front of her made her want to run away from that place. She bit her lower lip and took a breath to try again.

"I just did it. I was tired of him looking at me with those lustful eyes that I just thought of taking them out and I did it. If possible, I wanted him to disappear." She whispered those last words as she knew they were not allowed to kill each other but that didn't prevent her from wanting to kill him. The man just sat there in complete silence and then stood up walking out of the room. Minutes later, he came back with another man who had his head covered and made him kneel by the door. He then placed something on the table and spoke the words that made her break a cold sweat.

"Kill him." She looked up at him and then at the thing that was on the table. It was a gun. "You want to do it? Then go ahead, kill him." He walked to the man kneeling uncovering his face showing the guy she wounded before. His head was heavily bandaged and by the impression of it, he no longer had an eye in his left socket. His sole eye was full of anger when he saw her but the bindings on his hands and feet didn't let him move. The girl slowly stood up taking the heavy weapon and walking towards him.

"You want to kill me? Keep dreaming, pretty eyes. When you are sent back to the room I'll take that filthy body of yours and make you scream until your eyes turn white and beg me for mercy. That's what awaits to bitches lik-" His body fell like a lump after a hole appeared on his face and almost makes his entire brain spill out from the back. The girl emptily looked at his body while a pool of blood bigger than the one from before stained the pure white floor and wall, as if what she was seeing was nothing.

"Congratulations, Rei. You are officially one of us now." The man clapped. "The rule of not killing is just some bullshit rule. You are actually allowed to do it but all the guys back there didn't have the guts to do it. That's why they only left you half dead while you collected all that hatred enough to take the final step. Tsk, tsk, such a foolish guy, you pluck his eye out and the only thing he thinks is to rape you. Such a waste. It seems we had been nurturing the wrong guys. I'll take care of that." He snapped his fingers and the door opened showing another man in black that took away the corpse laying on the floor.

Soon, while they were walking down the hall, they could hear how screams and several gunshots came from the room she shared with the other guys. Of course, Rei couldn't care less about their fate, she was out and that was all that mattered.

Shadow. That was the name of the organization that held her there. Her parents were killed, accused of treason by the same organization they worked for and as payment for their mistake, they took their daughter to train her as a professional assassin.

The news of her parents' death didn't affect her in the slightest and the man smiled at her impassive face. ISI, CIA, MI6, FSB, BND, RAW, DGSE, ASIS, MSS, MOSAD and many more intelligence agencies often depended on Shadow, which as its name implies, is the shadow of the big organizations and it would always work in the shadows. Practically, nobody apart from them knew about it.

May, 2008

With 14 years, Rei was assigned to her first mission. To get information from a Sheikh suspected of weapons smuggling in the Middle East, then assassinate him. Key point about the mission, the man likes girls. For more than two years she had trained in assassination techniques, seducing, languages, culture, torture, disguise and many other subjects that can be proved useful in a mission.

In a party which many women, men and girls attended, he was going to choose the next girl to play with. Of course, all the girls there were aware of it but that didn't make them less scared. The man walked around the big hall taking a look at the little girls while touching them. But the fact that they would flinch and try to get away from him made him bored. He had had enough with those types of girls until he saw her.

It was a pale girl dressed completely in white, her face was covered by a veil but her pitch black, nicely combed hair made a sublime contrast, easily getting the attention of others. Though her most impressive feature was her eyes. With pale pink shadow and delicate eyeliner, her blue eyes stood out even more. She looked completely like a doll. The man approached her and while talking with her guardian, he caressed her.

He was delighted. Every time he would touch her, she wouldn't move at all and instead, she dedicated him a delicate and seducing smile. In his mind full of lust, he couldn't discover that it was all part of a plan. After the party, he immediately took her away to his chambers and instructed her to accompany him to the bathroom. He shamelessly undressed in front of her and even rubbed himself against her petite body. He then enter the huge bath tube already filled with water, oils and whatnot.

"Take off your clothes," he ordered. She silently obeyed and began to strip, beginning with her veil. The more skin she uncovered the most lustful his eyes became and the more awake his lower part was. Seeing her pale white skin, he couldn't stop thinking in leaving several red marks on it. "Come," he said not being able to endure it anymore. Her half developed body advanced towards him and the more she approached, the more impatient he got. He made her sit on his lap so she could feel his manhood and started to kiss her neck.

To his pure delight and excitement, she also began touching him. After some minutes in a game of touching, kissing, biting and licking, all of a sudden he started feeling pain on his back, he ignored it relating it to the position in the bath tube but then he began to feel numb all over his body until he couldn't move anymore. The girl stood up with a smirk.

"Such a waste of a handsome man. You know, you are the type of men I hate the most. Now, mister Saadi Bahiir, or should I say Saadi Rayhan?" She said while putting on her clothes back.

"How do you know?" The man was taken aback. First, he couldn't move, then a girl he had never met knew his real name. He took his time to understand that it was all a trap.

"I will be the one making the questions here. Please, cooperate, if not maybe this little guy will be separated from his dad." The man turned pale when she firmly took his manhood but regain his composure.

"Do it. You won't get a single word from me." She sighed. She also hated to be underestimated She took out a little knife from who knows where and pressed it against the piece of meat in her other hand. The man flinched and was about to start screaming but she quickly pressed a point in his throat to leave him voiceless and continued with her deed. Paying attention to his mouth she read from his lips that he was going to talk. With his voice back, he instantly began to cry out for help.

"If you are hoping for someone to come, then you're wasting your time. So let's go back to business." After 3 long hours of constant and unnoticeable torture, apart from cutting off his member, the man finally spoke. She left the room with a smile on her face. Outside, her guardian was waiting for her and they left the place as if nothing. No guard seen in the vicinity.

"What took you so long?" Asked the man with anger in his voice.

"We were having fun, Eddie, that's why." A murderous smile appeared on her face. Eddie, the man who had been monitoring her progress and her informant, helplessly smiled. It was indeed the job for her, he thought and was more convinced when she threw a piece of meat to the tied dogs that were barking at them.

August, 2013

Lee Rei was not the best agent in Shadow but she was the most efficient in the organization. She didn't doubt to kill and would do anything in her hands to get the information she wanted and all that with the minimum traces of her being there. Dangerous terrorists, corrupted politicians, leaders of mafia groups, those and many more filled the list of assassinations by her. With 19 years, she didn't have any problems in seducing a man and with more training, she just found it troublesome to escape from a house full of guards.

Of course, she wasn't exempt to be wounded but at least they never catch her. Her many disguises and identities made her one of the best undercover assassins. Her record was spotless until that day in which she committed the worst fault in the organization: killing a member of the organization. Of course, traitors were under another set of rules. For the first time she was working with a partner, a man, but in the middle of the mission, which was months long, she ended up killing him and the mission failed.

"Why did you break up one of our golden rules?" With a deep and stern voice, one of the higher ups during her trial spoke.

"He tried to take advantage of me." She replied with a serious tone.

"In what way? Explain yourself. Your report just says the same words." The voice thundered again in the room.

"He touched and kissed me; when I told him to stop, he tried to deceive me using the words 'I love you'. From my point of view, he was trying to distract me from my mission. He didn't stop even when I told him to get away from me so I killed him." She replied. The people in the room fell silent. Just what type of answer was that?

The organization didn't have problems with romance between their personnel; as long as it didn't distract them from their job, it was ok. In fact, Rei's parents were both part of the organization. It was better for them if couples were born within as it would be less problematic than dealing with an agent who had an outsider as a couple. They had to create a fake identity and job for the other person to assume they were dating someone 'normal'. There had been lots of situations regarding couples but to actually have one agent killed because his partner didn't understand a bit about love was a first.

"I believe we have to be blamed for that," said Eddie, clearing his throat gaining the attention of the people in front. Seeing how they were looking at him with scrutinizing eyes, he decided to continue. "She has spent many years here inside the compound so her understanding of the world is practically minimal. She has been exposed to the cruelty of the people that she doesn't know much about getting along with others."

The higher ups started to murmur between them about the possibility that Eddie's words might be the actual reason for the unfortunate incident to happen. The least they wanted was to get rid of such a nice subject as Rei, so they discussed about her fate for some minutes before reaching a conclusion that seemed plausible for everybody.

"From now on, she'll have to live in the outside world. Get her an apartment in a crowded city and find ways to communicate with her without looking suspicious. Also see that she gets along with as many people as possible and monitor her reactions towards people. She won't be taking missions for the time being until you send me a report that she has already adapted to her surroundings." The man with the deep voice spoke and without waiting for a reply, he stood up and left together with the others, leaving him and Rei alone.

January, 2016

"Newcastle?"

"Yes. We've been here in Madrid for too long. It would be good to change our setting." Said Eddie with a smile. He has been really delighted due to what the change of environment did to Rei. She had an excellent sense of adaptability to any situation and people that it was impressive even for him.

"Can I take the cello with me?" She asked while looking at the case leaning in a corner of the room.

"Of course." He replied. The only thing that was really hers in that room was the cello. She bought it months after she moved to Madrid saying that it was something that she needed to have. As a cello player, she couldn't really forget the feeling of the strings bending under her fingers and the strength in which the notes came out when the bow touched the strings producing either a grave or acute sound.

Having a cello with her was like living two lives. The moment she was taken out from that dark, dirty cell years ago, she was reborn into a new person. One who had to deal with the darkest side of humanity, one that was stained with blood, deception, crime, death. Meanwhile, playing the cello was like going back to the times where everything she was living at that moment was so far, like a dream or something taken out from a movie. Curiously, whenever she played the cello it wasn't like before.

The chords of back then were those of life and hope, of curiosity from a 12-year-old girl unlike the current ones of death, misery and the shrill sensation of someone screaming in agony. But she liked it. She liked it as she liked seeing when the eyes of the people she killed dimmed as the thread of life left their bodies. The chords of her recent self were wild and seductive just like her and she wouldn't accept it if any other type of chord came out of her cello.

"Where are you going? You'll get the information for your new mission soon." Asked Eddie while checking some papers. He glanced at the clock and it marked almost midnight.

"I'll take a stroll at Leazes Park. When you get it, just follow the sound of the cello. You'll do the same, right?" She said picking up the big case and looking at him nod.

"You're going out wearing that?" He looked at her from head to toe. As they have been living in a city where winters were not so cold, it was reasonable for her to underestimate the weather there. But the least he wanted was to have her catch a cold.

"It's ok. It's not my first time in cold environments." She smiled and walked out of the apartment. Eddie smirked. She was right. Those months in Russia were even worse, he thought, it might as well just be a breeze being here.

She never thought that on her first day being in Newcastle, she would immediately get the attention of a man. She first didn't know what to do as he looked at her fervently, but she calmed down and greeted him. Then she found out that he was a student. A feeling of envy filled her. She guessed that he was around her age, so she should be a student too. But no, her reality was another one. She lived in another world. As they were talking, she clearly heard footsteps behind her and knew it was Eddie. She smiled and thought she could play a prank on the guy in front of her.

Seeing his stunned expression was really satisfactory for her while she took note of the hidden message behind them: 'Next time, let me take you to Italy to rip that red dress of yours. You really make me crazy that I can't wait'. That meant that she had to take care of a leader of one of the Italian mafias and that it had to be done as soon as possible. Of course, afterwards she would only receive the picture of the guy and be taken to the place to do her stuff.

"Who was that guy?" Asked Eddie as she arrived hours later in the morning after she finished her job.

"Who?" She looked uninterested of whoever her guardian was talking about.

"The one you were with when I delivered the message." He looked on as she took off every part of her disguise until she ended up completely naked.

"Oh, him. Just some guy I met. I don't think I'll see him again." She shrugged and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

One week later, he was in front of her asking for a duet to which she accepted. Actually, it was surprising even for her that they could meet again. What were the odds of that in a city as big as that one? When they met in Leazes Park, she thought that he was some sort of spy from another organization seeing as he had no piano to play. She was even ready to end his life if he tried something but he didn't. He seemed like the most innocent person in the world.

So far, every person she had met wasn't able to hide their darkness within. The more she talked with one person, the more obvious it was for her. But he was extremely different. He was crystal clear and with 'problems' so common that they couldn't even be considered problems, considering what she had been through.

Though with other people she had been with, it was like observing their every movement to figure out their character not regarding anything they said. With Mino, she was hooked by his many stories of himself. It was the first time she truly listened, so it was her first 'talk' with someone that wasn't Eddie.

"What's with that smile of yours? You look like a cat that just got its prey." Said Eddie when he saw her entering the apartment almost at 4am.

"An interesting prey." She replied entering the bathroom to take a shower to then go to sleep.


	4. Something special. About Rei

"I don't want to." Whined the old man when one of his granddaughters offered him his medicine.

"Grandpa, you have to take them. It's an order from my father. He seemed very worried last time you got yourself checked and said your health has deteriorated the last few weeks. He just wants you to live long." The young woman said trying to convince the old man who she knew, was stubborn.

"Ai, just how long you want me to live?! Medicines won't make me an immortal!" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and heard the kids in front of him laugh at his tantrum.

"Don't be like this Grandpa, do it for us who want to have you around for some more time." She smiled and looked at him with puppy eyes; his weakness since he had his daughter. He sighed defeated.

"Ok, gimme those things." Before taking the pills and the glass with water, he jumped, as everybody in the room did when they heard a loud bang in the entrance.

"Ja Ryung, I told you it wouldn't fit!" Yelled another teen.

"It has to! Damn, can't we just knock down this door?!" Yelled back Ja Ryung.

"What is that boy trying to do? Seriously, there is no respect for this old man's house anymore. Then he will try to knock the whole thing down and leave me living with the monkeys." The man said more in disbelief than in anger making the kids and the young woman chuckle. It was well-known by everybody who has been in the house often that fauna there was extremely varied and were even surprised to see monkeys running wild in the courtyard stealing the fruit from the kitchen and even some other things from the house.

"He said he's prepared something special and that he worked hard for almost a year." The young woman replied with a smile on her face. "Ok, now that I'm done I have to go back and help my mom and aunts. It seems everybody will come this year." She stood up and after giving the old man another smile, she left.

"Ok, break time is over. We can continue." He resumed looking at the kids again who had already multiplied and now were 10. Though this time the eldest was a 12 year old with stunning blonde hair and looking rather European due to his father. It was his first time in the house and at first he looked awkward being the only different one between all the brown and black-haired heads of the other kids but seeing the easygoing and funny old man who was presented as his great-grandfather made him loose a bit and sat together with the others to listen to him.

  


…

  


  


She never thought that she would see the guy for a second time but a third time was ridiculous and more when he was walking next to her down the path that would lead them to the St. James stadium terraces and looking for a seat. It would have turned out quite awkward if it were just the two of them, not that she cared but she was adept in reading people's expressions and knew that Mino was nervous and quite anxious being around her. So it was a fortune that she was surrounded by his friends who would glance at her more often than she'd expected.

And it was no surprise either. Lee Rei, who was a prodigy in the cello 10 years ago and whose disappearance remained a mystery to the whole music world, was about to watch a soccer game with them. Sincerely, she had all the intentions of rejecting the offer but she instantly remembered that one of her jobs included an informant who liked soccer and arranged for a meeting in that exact game, so at that moment all she had in mind was that informant. Eddie gave her a cellphone in which she would receive a call from the informant stating the place of meeting.

Her hand remained in the pocket of her coat grabbing the apparatus, waiting for the call while letting the guys choose their seats. At the end, she sat between Jaden and Mino while Andrea, Wetzel and Mitchell sat in front of them. As the players were warming-up in the field, they engaged in a cheerful conversation she didn't pay attention to at all. Her whole focus was on the cellphone in her pocket but when she felt a hand on her forearm, her first reaction would have been to counter whatever attack was coming but as she turned, she halted when she saw Mino looking at her. He felt her tense up and immediately let her go.

"Sorry." He said. She let out the breath she was holding and looked around her, all the guys were looking at her. She put on a puzzled expression and with it, she looked back at Mino. "We were talking about buying beers so-"

"I don't drink." She interrupted him knowing where it was all headed but her cutting reply gained the stares of the five and she felt stress building up. "I am not allowed to drink." She tried now with an explanatory tone.

"How are you not allowed to drink? Aren't you around our age?" Andrea's outgoing and relaxed personality jumped out and asked. She turned to look at him and with just a glance, she had already guessed all she had to know about him. His looks were enough to make him smug about them and consequently a flirty man. His expensive clothes meant that his family was wealthy and he didn't spare any thought in buying whatever he wanted. His eyes reflected confidence all the time but deep down he was full of insecurities that tried to hide with his personality. Just the usual pretty guy hiding his complexes so she paid no attention to him.

"Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly or move with coordination. Plus, prolonged ingestion of it damages your heart, liver, pancreas and your immune system." She said with a matter-of-fact tone leaving the others speechless.

"Are you studying medicine?" Ventured to ask Wetzel. Rei cataloged him as the smartie of the group as he constantly showed a know-it-all expression on his face that most probably his friends ignore or are not aware of.

"No, it's common sense." She was aware that she was messing up their outing but she couldn't help being sarcastic and cold as it was her way of living. Though she didn't want to leave a bad impression in people as she always considered that if she ever needed to use them in any way, then she would just get along with them. Beaming a smile, she said. "But don't mind me. If you want to drink, then go ahead. I just don't like to drink."

In the end they still bought their drinks but lowered the dose for the first time. Moments later, the game began and everybody was focused on it. She pretended to be watching it though her mind was focused on the cellphone. Luckily for her, the guys didn't pay attention to her anymore when the game began, therefore, she was not asked any more questions. They sometimes talked about trifling stuffs and often made remarks about their private life and voluntarily included her in the conversation. That made her get to know more about them instantly plotting any way of manipulating them in some part of her brain, just how she was used to.

The first half ended with the local team losing by one goal and it was just a matter of seconds when she felt the cellphone buzzing. She took it out rapidly and noticed the informant had sent a message. She eyed the guys around him and mumbling a 'I'll be right back' at them, she walked away from the terraces back into the path where she came reading the message which detailed his position. Coincidentally, he asked to meet by the bathrooms near the area where she was sitting at that made her think that maybe she was being watched.

"The match is quite interesting." She said out loud when she reached the meeting point, gaining some looks from the people around her.

"It really is." Replied a tall man to her right. He was wearing painting on his face that made her barely make out his features but she didn't try too much as it was obvious that he didn't want to be recognized. Indeed, that man was the informant and in the message he asked her to say that comment to recognize her. Eyeing her from head to toe a few times, he made a gesture so she would follow him. "So who's the missy I'm having this delightful conversation with?" He asked when they reached a quiet and private spot.

"Cut the chatter and get to the point." She dedicated him one of her serious and sharp gazes that made him get uneasy. He knew that he was not facing another informant, which he was used to, but an actual agent who had loads of training on her back and he could easily perish in the blink of an eye. He inwardly cursed his superiors for allowing such a thing even when he recognized that the information was to be handed as fast as possible.

"We don't know much. This contains all the information gathered the last 3 months. You know it has to be done quickly. The clock is running, missy." He smiled at her and without a spare second, he fled. She looked at the driver he handed her and after notifying Eddie through a message that the deal was done, she headed to the exit of the stadium. Her job was priority and she couldn't care less about the group of five who were with her though she didn't expected to cross with one of them. Jaden.

"Where are you going?"

"I got a call and I have to go back. Please tell the others." She replied with a mild smile but inside she was extremely wary. He was the type of person she couldn't discern. He was pretty honest with his expressions but there were times when he is hard to read and that was what she didn't like about him. The only ones with that ability were the superiors of her organization and Eddie himself. If she was asked then she would say that the guy in front of her was trained to be like that. By whom? She didn't know but that didn't stop her to be on-guard around him.

"Really?" The question made her look at him with more intent trying to know what's going on in his mind but she couldn't. They stood there in silence for some seconds until another person interrupted their stare contest.

"Here you are." From afar, Eddie could guess that her stance was that of being ready to attack but when he glanced at the man in front of her, he couldn't see a threat coming from him so he just called for her to prevent an unnecessary situation that involved hiding a body and disappearing from the city. "I told you to come out quickly but I see you are still flirting with guys." He said in a playful tone that Rei didn't care about but took Jaden aback. Eddie's appearance was so sudden he didn't notice where he came from. "I'm Rei's uncle. I hope she's not troubling you. If so, then I apologize on her behalf."

Rei just snorted and walked away from them not even bidding farewell to Jaden. Both men just stared at her leaving back until she disappeared and that is when Jaden paid attention to Eddie and all he saw was a smiling middle-aged man wearing black clothes almost as light as Rei's and thought that maybe he was the one responsible of her mania. In truth Jaden was just good at reading people because of his parents, one was a psychologist and the other a psychiatrist, nothing more, and that helped him understand how to behave in front of certain people.

Although he thought that Rei was somewhat special due to her sudden reactions to being touched or when she would just stare at one point, which to him meant that perhaps she had undergone some sort of trauma, he didn't have a bad idea about her or the man that said to be her uncle. Seeing her 'uncle' took him by surprise too. It was like seeing a blank paper even when he was smiling and the more he looked at him the less he knew about him; on the contrary, Eddie could tell everything about Jaden.

Simply put, he was just a brat who had a talent in reading people and even thought of recruiting him but he disposed of that idea as soon as he saw fear in his eyes.

"Well, then, I need to go. Even if she doesn't show it, Rei has quite a temper and I sometimes cannot control her." Eddie sighed and then smiled helplessly. Of course, he was just testing Jaden to see his reaction towards Rei but seeing that he just nodded, he felt extremely disappointed. He waved farewell and left. Jaden didn't think too much about what had happened and went back to where his friends were.

"Where's Rei?" Asked Mino as soon as he saw him back. Jaden was sent to look for her in case she had gotten lost but as he was back and she was not with him, it worried Mino a bit.

"Her uncle came to pick her up. Some sort of emergency, I guess." Jaden shrugged and sat.

The game continued and they soon forgot about the person who left as they were used to being five. Though, Mino couldn't really get her out of his mind. He was the one who invited her so it was a bit obvious that he had to worry. He didn't know much about her; basically, he knew only her name and that she played the cello. He took a guess of her age due to some basic information about her in the net, the little he got as she didn't like to appear in public back then and her time under the spotlight was extremely short so there wasn't much to look at.

Two weeks later, his mind was still filled with her. Not because he was having some sort of fixation with her, or maybe yes, but because he hadn't seen her in those two weeks. She had practically disappeared and he related it with the supposed emergency from back at the game. He even went to Leazes Park every night to check if she was there but nothing, not even in the bar where he saw her for the second time. He asked the staff there but they just knew her name, nothing more. Not even wandering in the city hoping to come across her worked.

"You want what?" Asked Andrea while the five were in the cafeteria eating their lunch.

"Don't go deaf on me. You heard well, I want you to help me know more about Lee Rei." Said Mino as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Yeah, I heard that. But what I meant was, 'why?'"

"I want to play with her but she refuses to come to the university. She's everything I've been looking for, musically speaking, and she goes and disappears as if she doesn't exist. This is a bit... unsettling. I know you don't have anything to do with it but it means a lot to me. My musical career depends on her." Andrea just looked surprised at Mino.

"There is no way your career depends on her. Why don't you just look for another person?" Mitchell said. He was kind of the rational among them and would offer the best solutions to the problems among the group. Jaden just remained silent as he would always do whenever there was this kind of conversations and the others didn't mind about it as they knew about his personality.

"It's just a bit of information. I don't know, about her parents, what she had done after she went missing. I mean, there is no way she can disappear without a trace. Something more than just her name, age and the CD she released," reasoned Mino. "Besides, she does mean a lot. You heard it right? The way she plays is just out of this world. People compared her first compositions and labeled them at the same level of famous old compositors. But now, if she isn't above Beethoven or even Mozart then I will just drop out." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his friends who sat there pondering.

They knew that Mino didn't have to bet on his studies because they heard it too. Her music was something that no human possible would be able to create, it was even frightening to an alarming level and that was why they didn't want to hear her again. They were afraid that they would get lost in her music and felt sympathetic towards Mino as he had already lost his mind to her chords.

"Mino, my friend, I think you already lost it." Said Andrea patting his shoulder. Mino frowned and was about to open his mouth to say something but Wetzel stopped him with his words.

"Her parents died." All the four turned to look at him, asking with their eyes to continue. "This wasn't something that came to the public, don't ask me why, but because my parents knew her mother, that's why I know."

"You think that explains her attitude?" Commented Jaden all of a sudden, his brows creased.

"What are you talking about?" Mino, Andrea and Mitchell had no idea what he was talking about but Wetzel was beginning to make his own guessing though he waited for Jaden to explain himself better.

"If you have noticed, she tends to get lost in her own world and she often tenses when she's touched. Plus, she gets wary when she gets confronted about her doings as if she's hiding something." Everybody had a serious expression. Mino was thinking of the moment back at the park when she jumped back from him as if she was afraid of him.

"Back when we were kids, I saw her once when my mom invited hers to a tea party. She was undoubtedly not like how she is now but I guess it has to do with her parents’ death and maybe that's the reason why she went missing." Added Wetzel trying to make sense about her behavior.

"Yeah, but what about the time she went missing? The sudden loss of her parents would indeed be shocking to a girl but as famous as she was back then, her whereabouts would have been known, I guess. But everything about her was unknown, as if she stopped existing. If Mino hadn't seen her in that park, then she would be thought as dead."

Mitchell's words left everybody thinking about the mystery behind Lee Rei. If Mino was in the same situation in which his parents died, then he would want to be alone for some time, that's true. Yet, as famous as he was, then the press would be swarming around him trying to get the latest news about his life and going with that reasoning then it would have been the same to Rei. But, she completely disappeared for ten years without anybody knowing a single bit about her.

They all got to the conclusion that whatever happened in those 10 years, was a huge impact in her life resulting in the Rei they all knew.

"So, what are you going to do? It's a bit clear that she is in a delicate situation. Do you still want to make a duet with her?" Asked Jaden looking at Mino who was still pondering.

"I first want to see her again and perhaps talk about it. If she refuses again, then I will give up on her." He replied not looking at any of them. He was extremely reluctant to let such a talent as hers go but if there is a deep reason as to why she doesn't want to play in the university which was most likely her being in public, then he will consider looking for another person.


	5. A thud

It wasn't until 2 months later after their talk that Mino could see Rei again yet not in the way he wanted, but in his dreams. That's right, it had been almost 3 months since he last knew of her and the information he asked of his friends was not at all useful, instead they got even more curious about her whereabouts as all they could actually gather was the same. A supposed car accident in which she was not present ended the lives of her parents and after that nothing was heard of until Mino came across her that night in the park.

It really was as if she had disappeared all those years and now she returns with some uncle they never heard of, not even Wetzel whose parents knew hers a bit. So after two months, they were at the starting point, with nothing about a person they secretly thought didn't exist anymore. Her appearances and disappearances along with her frightening talent for music was all they were aware of her, along with the facts from the past and adding to that, the mysterious uncle that presented himself the day of the match.

If the said emergency the uncle said was true, then it really was an important one for her not to show up for months. Beyond that, they were a bit concerned about Jaden's judgment about the two. After a month of investigating her matters and getting nothing, he decided to voice what he thought about them. Something along the lines of her going through some sort of trauma that likely surged from her parent's death which implied that it was no simple accident as everybody thought and also the fact that her uncle gave some sort of weird vibe that despite being her relative, he didn't seem to care too much about her.

That made the group ponder about it. But nothing came to their minds as to the relationship between uncle and niece and that had them even more curious about all the mystery that was Lee Rei, if the person that presented like that was the true Lee Rei. They knew so little about her that even her identity was questioned, at least by Mino's friends since he, himself, couldn't care less about who she was as long as he could see her again. Some times his friends wondered if Mino's state of mind was crossing the line of insanity but seeing him behave normally around others made them regret question his mental health.

At least they were aware that Mino had some sort of fixation with her that could very well be called obsession, but they didn't want to upset their friend with their thoughts, so they let him be. To Mino it proved to be a really difficult deed, not to think about her. As his friends once told him, joking of course, he was beyond being captivated by her music that they believed he was bewitched. And putting aside the childish words, he came to the conclusion that he truly was a captive of her music.

That's why the night he saw her in his dreams, he dreamed about her playing. He was in the room he would always use when practicing, the farthest one in the hall so nobody would bother him; a room with the perfect illumination for him, not too bright and not too dim, just perfect. And he was playing like he used to do back when he was a child, for fun, not caring about anything, just because he liked the sound the strings made whenever he pressed a key.

He was playing with his eyes closed, he didn't need to see the keys at all as he knew the song very well, one of his favorites, but he didn't know where he heard it before. He just knew it and he played it until he got lost in the melody and everything around him disappeared; it was him and the piano, though something made him wake up from his reverie. It was the sound of a cello, first so far away but with time it became clearer and he liked it. He loved it.

He loved the sound of the piano together with the cello. The ethereal sound of the piano mixed with the raw sound of the cello. It was becoming addictive. The more he heard it, the more he felt it. It was like a battle of melodies that complemented each other at the same time. It was strange but he couldn't stop it. He wouldn't stop it. The more he heard, the more he got lost in the rhapsody of sounds that made his body tingle until he felt he was floating.

It was a slow ascension to the sweet unknown world of true music, true feelings, true sensations, true self but he was abruptly stopped when something snapped. He fell. His eyes opened so suddenly that he felt dizzy and everything was blurry that he had to blink several times to focus. He turned to look at his piano and checked if it was a string in it that made that sound yet he didn't see anything amiss. That was when he noticed he wasn't alone in the room.

In the back, by the darkest corner of the room there was someone. The light made it unable to discern the face of the person but his gaze locked on the instrument. It was a white cello. At first he just stared at it, his mind telling him that it was familiar, that he had seen it before and that he knew who the owner was but he couldn't move. It was a string in the cello that had snapped and he remained there, staring at the loose string; then everything came to him when he heard the sound of a drop touching the floor.

It was so loud that it even resonated in the desolated room. The hands on the cello hadn't moved but he realized that one was bleeding. The first, lonely drop of blood fell on the floor, but then more and more began to fall until it became a thread that soon tinted the white cello in red. He stood up abruptly almost sending the stool flying and ran to the corner. His heart thumping like crazy in his chest that it almost hurt and then he froze.

In front of him was her. Lee Rei. That black hair, those white clothes, that face like a doll, and those blue eyes. It was her. But at the same time she wasn't. The Lee Rei in front of him was full of bruises and cuts that bled constantly. Her gaze locked with his and he shuddered when he saw the emptiness in her eyes. They were blue but it was such a dim blue, there was no luster in them. They were lifeless. A chill ran down his spine when she smiled. It was a crooked smile that bordered to insanity. Her lips moved but he couldn't hear her words and when they stopped, the cello fell.

A sickening thud that even made him take a step back and Lee Rei was gone. On the floor there was just the instrument that once was white but had turned red. And everything around him shattered with a guttural, devastated scream.

Mino opened his eyes and immediately sat up on the bed. He was sweating and trembling, his throat dry and a chill sensation loomed his body. He was gasping, trying to make air get to his lungs. He clenched his still trembling fists until he calmed down several minutes later. The clock on his night table marked 5:39am. He let out a shaky breath and laid on the bed again even when he knew that he wouldn't go back to sleep. His dream was just too real, too vivid that it was scary.

He forced himself out of the bed to take a long, warm shower. Even though the chilling sensation didn't leave his body, he somewhat forgot about his dream when he met with his friends in the cafeteria to eat lunch. The group had silently dropped the topic of investigating about Lee Rei since all their efforts would always end up in a dead end even if they would sometimes find themselves talking about her or just thinking about her.

"So, what are you going to do about next the assignment?" Andrea asked Mino. "If you don't find a partner soon, then that will affect your grade with the possibility of not presenting anything."

"The assignment is ok and all, but I don't see why they had to make it some sort of festival. Really, as if embarrassing ourselves in front of our classmates is not enough, now we have to do it in front of the whole campus." Whined Mitchell trying to smash his already smashed potatoes.

"Not counting the outside people that might come, as it was also made open to the public." Pointed out Jaden.

"My parents said they will come. You know how desperate I am for them to cancel it?" Wetzel dropped his head defeated remembering the enthusiastic tone of his mother over the phone announcing that they would attend the festival. "What about yours Mino? I bet they are dying to see you play."

"Eh? No, they-they don't know about it and even if I told them, they wouldn't come. Though, I wouldn't be happy for them to be here when I might not even play." An awkward silence fell after his words. It was highly likely for him not to be able to play when their teacher knows that he has no partner and that would be a shame for the genius of the Music Department. So they didn't say anything further. The whole Lee Rei matter had him a bit down and then him missing an assignment was not something good for him.

He had actually prepared himself with a song hoping that she would one day appear so he would practically beg her to be his partner. He even thought of doing whatever she wanted with him just for the sake of playing once with her. But to the date, she was nowhere to be seen and he would lose an evaluation. Though, the matter of not seeing her weighed more on him.

It was weird for him to see all the people in his career preparing for the festival. Even when they were going to be evaluated, they were thrilled of the fact that many people would see them. Many just wanted some director to notice them so they would be employed as musicians or composers and maybe that was the reason why it was made like that. It wasn't the first time they had to compose and play but it was the first time that they had to do it with someone else. There were even groups of 5 playing like a mini orchestra, so yeah, everybody was looking forward the festival.

Meanwhile, he would just hang out alone in the practice room he unofficially claimed for himself. Nobody would bother him anyway so it wasn't something that had him concerned. Even 2 days before the event, there were people asking to join their group, but he would kindly reject them saying that he already had a partner. A lie, of course, that everybody knew. It was no secret that he had stopped playing duets with whoever asked him to play so rumors began to spread.

Some saying that he had become a snob because of his title of 'Genius', others saying that it was because of his parents, some others even claiming that he could no longer make music that's why he stopped playing with a partner so no word would spread about his missing talent, there were even those that truly believed him already having a partner but he was hiding them. He couldn't care less about what others said. He just focused on his song that was similar to the one from his dream but for some reason it was not the same.

It didn't matter how many times he played it, it didn't sound the same. He was called Genius because even without a companion he would always bring up the beauty of a melody so he didn't want to accept that it was because of the lack of the cello; though deep inside he recognized it was because of that. He played his song for the hundredth time that afternoon with his eyes closed and after his fingers pressed the last key, he sighed.

Hours and hours of playing the same but it still didn't sound how he wanted it to sound. Perhaps his talent really was gone. Gone like Lee Rei. He shook his head when the memory of her bloody self appeared in his mind. It was no time to think about dreams. He decided he was not going to play, not with that half-assed melody.

The day of the festival was cloudy but it was not cold at all, instead signs of spring were all over the place and the building of the Music Department was more cheerful than ever. The main hall of the building was really crowded, not with just students but with invited people, relatives, friends and even strangers. It was a fortune that the hall could accommodate all the throng of people without being uncomfortable

"Are you sure you're not going to play?" In the backstage, the group of friends were gathered waiting for their time to perform.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Said Mino looking at Wetzel who had an unreadable expression on his face or at least Mino didn't want to know.

"You already told Mrs. Price? I think you are included in the whole event so you better tell her beforehand." Mitchell's voice hinted that he felt sympathetic towards his friend but tried to hide it.

"I've been looking for her but she kind of evades me as if she doesn’t want me to tell her I'm not playing." He shrugged and the five just smiled because it did seem the case. Whenever he found her, she would immediately turn and walk away from him pretending to be busy with something.

"She loves you, man. I think she wouldn't mind you playing alone but I think she's still pondering, you know, for the sake of fairness. People complain." And after saying that, Andrea looked around to the ones that were eavesdropping the conversation between them and quickly looked away.

"Well, if she's avoiding me, then tell her I'm not playing. At least like that she'll know." The others nodded. "Well, good luck. I'll be in the public cheering on you." The five laughed and then Mino left the room.

The ones that knew him were surprised to see him sitting in the public. Of course, most attended just to hear him play that his presence there made them greatly disappointed. And it wasn't that they were undervaluing the others but you don't get to hear a genius musician so often and without having to pay.

The only time Mino actually paid attention to the people in the stage was when his friends performed. And who said that 3 violins and a bass wouldn't sound refreshing because that was what they managed. A vibrant melody that could make you bounce your head and paint a silly smile on your face. It was the sound of youth screaming their power and announcing to all and sunder they had all the right to be heard over all things. And he wasn't the only one who appreciated the display as the claps at the end of their performance lasted for some good seconds.

Afterwards, Mino just wanted to leave as he knew that it was soon going to be his 'turn'. He only hoped that his friends had told their teacher that he wasn't performing at all. And it wasn't a matter of not having a partner but because his melody was empty even when his friends said it was the best they had listened to. But they didn't feel how he felt while playing. All the melody was just wrong.

"I bet you were all waiting for this special performance. It was hard for me to make an exception with him but I think it would be a waste not to hear what he has prepared for us because I'm sure he did prepare something." Mrs. Price's eager and expectant voice was contagious and soon the whole Hall was murmuring excited. Some would even eye the person she was referring to and said person wanted to run away from the place. "So, I will not keep you waiting more. Ladies and gentlemen, Min Ho Song."

The claps and cheers just made him highly consider in running away but Mrs. Price gestures to come up to the stage just prevented him to do so. He could only disappoint everybody saying that he wouldn't be performing so he stood and walked to the stage but before he could talk to his teacher she fled from where she was standing and left him alone. He couldn't believe it. He turned around to see his public and their shiny eyes just hurt. He couldn't just run away. It was not for him to do so.

He sighed defeated and walked towards the piano. He pressed some keys to make sure that it sounded right and when it did, he stopped. He took a deep breath and then he closed his eyes. He let the melody in his mind wash him and he naturally began to play. But it was wrong. It was not the same. The melody in his mind wasn't in the least similar to the one his fingers were playing. And even as the melody continued, his eyebrows creased more and more until he stopped completely.

He expected the people to gasp or begin their murmurs due to his sudden halt and he couldn't open his eyes to see the disappointment in their eyes. He didn't need it from them, the one from his parents was more than enough, thank you. But what came was not the whispers or murmurs, what came was the grave sound of a chord and he felt it. All the pieces gathering, completing the puzzle of his melody. The chords came one by one filling his body with something he couldn't quite explain.

His fingers began to press the keys once more and, oh may the Heavens be damn, because he felt good. This was what he was looking for. This sensation, this feelings, this combination. It was pure perfection. It was human, holy, raw, visceral, ephemeral, deep, piercing, innocent, pure, seductive, forward, insane, methodical, pulsing, twisted, clawing, hard, soft, stretching, untouchable, delicious, shuddering. Perfect. Once again he felt the ascension, all the mundane matters leaving his body as his naked soul tried to reach the unknown. He could feel it, this time he would reach it.

His soul was palpitating with each chord. It was like a war of tug, it was splitting quite beautifully between his sound and the sound of the cello. It was the same battle. But now he knew what it was. A battle between perversion and purity. Evil and goodness. Life and death. The Apocalypse itself in a simple song. An ancient battle that knows no end and he was in the middle of it all. No, not in the middle, he was pulling and being pulled. It felt romantic and sexual at the same time.

And he didn't want it to end and it won't. The battle will continue because there is no evil without goodness, no death without life, not purity without perversion. Everything was balanced now. Everything was right.

When he opened his eyes, the melody was gone. He felt like a new person. He didn't know more or less, he was just different. Reborn. And his eyes immediately looked for her. Because he knew it was her. There was no other person in the world that could have made him feel like that. He wanted to see that black hair, those white clothes, that face like a doll and those blue eyes with their respective luster, but his eyes found another person. A blonde-haired, green-eyed, sharp-featured woman with grey clothes and a red cello in front of her.

His stomach sank and for a few seconds he got dizzy. It was the same red cello from his dreams, the one that fell with a sickening thud as if it was a body falling from a great height, not a cello. But no, that was not possible. It had to be her. No one else. Even her height was different, though the high-heels might be blamed for that but he was sure that if she took them off, she would be the same height as her.

She began to put her cello away not paying attention to him or any other person in the public who was silent, still in some sort of stupor due to the song. And when she started walking away, he followed her. It wasn't until they were out of the Hall that he finally reached for her. Because he didn't want to think that it wasn't her. It had to be her. No one else.

"Rei." He called out grabbing her arm. It wasn't the same. Nothing was the same. But he wanted to believe. "Rei." Did his voice change? Why did it feel as if he was wronged? As if he wanted the woman in front of her to assume her sins and tell the truth. Because it had to be her. No one else. "Rei." Now it sounded desperate. He was scared.

She gently pulled her arm from his grip and he willingly let her go. It wasn't her. It was someone else.

"Lee Rei is dead."

A sickening thud.


	6. Nameless

She opened her eyes. Or at least she thought she had opened them but due to how swollen her face was, she merely achieved to squint. She looked around herself and noticed that she was in a white room. She panicked and tried to stand up but her muscles protested to her sudden movements and she collapsed again. An acute pain ran through her rib cage, right leg and shoulder. She had at least several ribs broken along with her leg which was twisted in an awkward angle and her shoulder was dislocated, possibly shattered.

She bit her lip with such strength that she could taste blood in her mouth. She waited for minutes that felt like hours for the pain to subside. Her head was spinning and many times she fought the feeling of throwing up. Her body finally went back to a state where she could bear with the pain and her mind began to work. First, she had to see in what situation she was in and what she could do.

She was in a white room, no windows, no sound, no nothing, just the white door that she knew would open from time to time, or maybe never. She cursed inwardly; from all the torture methods she had to end up in, the one she hated the most was the white room. Well, it wasn't that she hadn't been in the same situation before so she calmed down and focused on her breathing. Which was a hard task because of the pain in the ribs.

Ok, so her surroundings were the worst possible, she couldn't do anything about it. Next, her body, no need to think about her rib cage, there was nothing for her to do; she thought of her shoulder, fine, she could work it out. With great difficulty and some painful groans she put herself in a position in which she could put her shoulder back in its place. A horrible crack, more pain and a loud scream later, it was back in place -luckily not shattered. She moved it a bit but it was still painful. She waited for some minutes or hours more, she didn't know, before she could move it more.

Then, her leg. She looked down to it with the only eye she managed to open and grimaced at the sight. It was going to be even more difficult and painful than the shoulder, that's all she could think about. She leaned with all the care of the world and touched the knee. Great, no bristled bones, just some adjustment to it like the shoulder. She breathed deeply numerous times to calm herself for what was going to come.

Her throat almost tore with the screaming, tears rolled and then she fainted. She regained consciousness when she felt someone was in the room and she opened the eye that was less swollen to look at the person.

"I must say I'm impressed." Said the person, who was a man from the voice, in Russian. She groaned. Why was it always the Russians?

The target from her latest mission was some madman from Poland. However, on the way back they were ambushed and as a trained agent, the priority was to let her guardian escape, after all informants didn't have the same training as them and were more important. An informant could also ask for reinforcements, if they even cared about sending them. Either way, her informant, Eddie, was the only one of that could escape from being captured.

So the question was, what did Russia have to do with the Polish man? Was it some sort of agreement? Were they looking for revenge? Was it some hidden organization in the country? Or were they even Russians? They could be talking in Russian to confuse her and hide their identity. Many questions and thoughts crossed her mind but she didn't have the time to think about them.

"I must be the impressed one to end up in a place like this again." She replied in Russian, her voice was hoarse and she was grateful of that, in that way, they wouldn't be able to track her down by her voice. She didn't care about them seeing their face as she could always change it. The man laughed.

"That's why I'm impressed. All people thrown here begin to despair in a few hours but you are as calm as if you're strolling in a park. And you even fixed your shoulder and leg." He said with amusement in his voice.

"Well, I'm flattered and I could accept that stroll in the park." She grinned. The man laughed again.

"Ah, truly, you're perfect, I could almost make you get out of here and make you mine but it seems that is impossible. You have two options, get out of here alive or dead. All you have to do is answer some questions." The man, who was wearing some sort of white suit that covered his entire body, even his head, approached her and crouched right in front of her placing a hand in her left side of the rib cage. She grimaced from the pain. "Why did you kill Niemczyk?"

"Revenge." She replied quickly. But it seemed that that wasn't the answer he was looking for because he pressed her rib cage. She was panting but she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of a scream.

"What kind of revenge?" He asked. He obviously didn't believe her but for the sake of seeing her in pain he followed her game.

"He killed my parents." She said in a low voice as she was focusing more in the place where he was pressing.

"A noble revenge indeed, Irina, or should I say Rei?" Rei squinted her eye but didn't say a thing. "You thought we didn't know about you?" He chuckled. "Well, sadly that is all we know about you. Dear Lee Rei, I really used to love how you played the cello, you are the type of person one doesn't easily forget. It was such a delight to find you in Newcastle, how long has it been? 10 years? You are such a mystery; unknown whereabouts for 10 years. That's why I looked for information about you. You know what I found?" She kept quiet listening to his monologue. "Exactly! Nothing! Isn't that strange? 10 years you disappear and then puff! You appear out of nowhere. But don't think I have some sort of fetish or any of the sort. No, I'm just a fan. A fan that undoubtedly is your enemy. You see, I met your parents." Rei's eye widened. The man laughed.

"Ah, yeah, but curiously, they disappeared 10 years ago too. Such a coincidence or maybe not if we take into account the information I got from them. Though, it wasn't much, I have to say. We just got the name of the organization but not where it was located. Your people are really cautious; they even killed their agents while being interrogated by us. You are such sneaky little people. They dared to infiltrate into my people just to kill your parents and then that man killed himself! I was angry Rei. You have been ruining my business with my partners because they are found dead and nobody knows by who. See where I'm getting to? Niemczyk was but a trap to get you. But life is really a bitch, isn't it? First your parents, now you. I can even say it is unfair. But there has been enough idle chatter." The man stood up and exited the room.

Rei didn't move. She didn't even want to think. She didn't have to think at all, actually. Everything was crystal clear now! This man got her parents 10 years ago and tortured them for information that they provided, probably in the verge of death. She didn't even want to imagine what type of torture they were submitted to, it must have been gut clenching, there was no doubt about that.

But she felt a little betrayed knowing that Shadow was aware who they were dealing with and they didn't even thought in giving her that bit of information. Of course, there was nothing she could do against a whole organization but at least she would have kept an eye on someone who might have been following her just like the man.

She sighed. It didn't matter how much she thought about it, there was nothing she could do about the past but she had to wait about what he had to say. The man came back in what appeared to be hours; time just wasn't the same in a white room, she knew it by experience. He crouched in front of her and this time he showed her a photo. Her heart stopped when she saw it. Her mind went blank and this time instead of looking at him, she closed her eyes defeated.

"You know what this means, right?" He asked with a smug tone.

"What do you want?" She asked back not opening her eyes.

"Oh? Not even going to fight? No threat? No nothing? Well, this is a bit disappointing." He lamented.

"Stop the chatter and just say what you want." She spat.

It wasn't that she didn't want to fight, she just couldn't, not when they were threatening with a person she didn't want to involve into anything that was her life. In the photo, she was talking with Mino, the day she played in the bar and he followed her out. No matter how cold blooded she was, it was always her way of working not to involve outsiders and she hadn't done it until now. She hated it. For the same reason she was in that situation, she hated it.

"I'm going to give you two options that will most probably end your life. One, you can tell me everything about Shadow and end up like your parents, or, you can work for me and most probably they will send someone to kill you for betraying them. Which one is it going to be? You are playing with his life, well with yours too but I guess you are trained to die, so you are playing with his life."

She kept silent. Not moving, thinking or even breathing. She really was trained to die at any moment because that was her job, to risk her life. So what was there to think about? She smiled. A crooked smile. An insane smile that would make anyone shiver and then she laughed. A maniac sound that resonated in the room.

"Just kill me. I will end up dying anyway, just kill me. He will just be a casualty. Not that I care. He looked for me not even thinking what he was getting into, so that's his problem. Just better kill me because I won't say a shit and I won't work for the likes of you." She let out a steady breath and just waited for what had to come.

And it came. A kick in her rib cage that ripped a scream from her throat, the air from her lungs and made her spat blood on the white floor. Then, it was just what she expected but they made sure to give it slowly. She went from being tortured in one room and then given water for her to survive, then again being thrown into the white room again for days, or what seemed like days.

Then the routine would repeat over and over and over again. Drowning, breaking, peeling, lashing, electrocuting, piercing, then left alone in that world of white where she couldn't hear a thing, smell a thing or see a thing, just white.

One day she felt it. She had given up. Her survival instincts gone and she just let the water enter her lungs and it worked. She was beginning to fall into darkness to never wake up again but then she opened her eyes to find the same people who were making her life a hell in front of her. She wanted to cry. She just wanted all that to finish but they wouldn't let her.

She wanted to leave and maybe reunite with her parents, play her cello for eternity, yeah, she could hear it. Her cello. Her chords of death. But then, there was something else. A light. Was that the light of death? No, it was a dim light, a dim illuminated room and a piano. The chords of a piano. The chords of life. She looked down at her cello and she started playing with a smile on her face.

She felt home again. The warmth she had been missing for 10 years, the sanity she had given up in that crooked world she was living in. The life she was seeking for her dead body. The feeling of being complete without knowing she was empty. She was reconstructing her broken self piece by piece the longer the melody played but then she felt her palm burn and her eyes immediately opened. The surreal state inside her mind dissipating like fog. A loose string. A burning palm. A drop of blood. A clattering sound. Footsteps. And then sparkling eyes on her.

They were like stars in a clear night looking right down at her and she felt unworthy of them, unworthy of the light radiating from them. She knew it. They were totally different. She was darkness and he was light. She was death and he was life. Total opposites that weren't supposed to be together so she desired to disappear and she did.

She heard voices, distant and muffled. She tried to open her eyes but she couldn't or more like she didn't want to. She just lied there not doing anything, just hearing. And the voices became clearer and clearer.

"Your people really are heartless." A somewhat familiar voice said but the language was wrong. It was English.

"It is something we have to do whenever we see something that might cause problems." She knew that voice. Eddie.

"At least she passed the test. She's much better than her parents. They didn't even last one week of the regime, she, on the other hand, lasted a month. I kind of respect her and pity her at the same time. She preferred death than leaking anything out of the organization or working for any other one, she didn't even care about that boy. She is perfect." A hammering headache was messing with her thoughts.

"Well, it is a surprise that she survived the surgery too. You got too excited. Her face was unrecognizable and her internal hemorrhage was so bad she almost died. Good thing her recovery is going smoothly and it only took her a month. We will just wait for her to wake up and then she'll be going back to work." She heard footsteps and the door opening and closing then another set of footsteps that got closer to her.

"They really expect a lot from you, dear Lee Rei." The man, she recognized as the Russian, gently brushed her hair and then left. She just let unconsciousness claim her once again, she was too tired to process what she just heard.

Next time she snapped her eyes open, she saw a light blue room with a white ceiling. There was a beeping and she was having problems breathing. She touched her face and the tubes in her nose made her feel uncomfortable so she pulled them. She drew a deep breath and then she calmed down. She looked right and left and noticed she was in a hospital bed. Though she knew it wasn't the hospital but the clinic wing from the organization. Her head pounded and the words from that conversation filled her mind.

It wasn't a dream. She knew it. She had been played, tricked, tortured and she accepted death just for the sake of an organization that killed her parents just to test the loyalty of their agents. She felt totally stupid, more than stupid. Everything was bullshit! Complete and utter bullshit! Just what had she been doing with her life for 10 years?

She could have continued her dream of being a renown cellist and she was about to become one but everything was taken away from her by them! By her parents for being fucking agents in some assassin organization and they failed a fucking test that screwed her future! And she believed them! She believed that they were betrayers of the world! For the sake of the world. What a pool of bullshit! She was sick. She let them played her life. What was she saying? It wasn't her life, it was theirs, because she didn't even own herself. Everything had been an utter lie.

She let out a sigh. What could she do? She had depended on them for 10 years and didn't know anything about the world. She just knew the world they painted for her. She knew nothing and nobody. Oh. She knew someone. His face flashed in her mind. But what could she expect of him? What was she going to do? Again, what could she do?

The door opened and a stern-looking nurse entered the room who didn't pay her any heed as she checked the machines and her vitals; not even caring that she was awake. She followed the nurse with her eyes until they stopped in a mirror in the room. She stared at it for some time while the nurse bustle around her. Who was that? She slowly turned the head to one side and then to the other without breaking contact with the reflect.

Then, something clicked. They said it. Something about a surgery, they changed her face. She was no longer the doll faced woman but one with sharp features, she looked kind of aristocratic, alright. Her blue eyes were still there and her black hair too, though it was longer now, not by much but definitely longer. But the woman in the reflection wasn't her. That woman may have the same eyes and hair than Lee Rei but it was not Lee Rei. No, it wasn't her. Lee Rei died. They killed her.

She turned to look at the nurse. Her face was serious while she changed the bag of whatever they had hung so it would enter her body through the catheter. She didn't think about it, she just did it. She tore off that catheter and seconds later it was buried in the nurse's throat. Rei stood up and let the woman bleed herself on the floor. She put on some robes that were hanging in a cabinet that was in the room and she exited to the deserted hallway. She walked down it and found a doctor's office. She went into it and she found another robe one more suitable to her disguise, adding to that the shoes she took from the nurse, she looked decent.

Getting out of the building was more difficult than she thought but luckily nobody saw her as there weren't many people there. Once outside, she didn't dare to take a car but just walked away. She walked for so long, her legs hurt but she finally found the highway and followed it until she reached London. It was past midnight already and for the first time she didn't know what to do.

She looked around at the lonely streets and by chance she found a call girl in a corner and knocked her out to changed into her clothes. She still kept the nurse's shoes but they didn't match with the skimpy dress at all. At least, the jacket was nice and covered what the dress couldn't and she kept walking until she found a park she could rest at. It wasn't until dawn that she continued her journey. This time asking for a ride in the highway back to Newcastle. She had no idea why there but something told her that she had to go.

Luckily, the group of people that gave her the ride was the sort of Peace and Love group and they took her all the way to Newcastle while pretending to smoke their sickening weed. They even made her a complete make over with different clothes, dyed her hair blonde and even gave her a set of green contacts just to make her one of their own. She arrived at Newcastle the next day in the morning. Time was vital at that moment and she didn't have much. She almost ran to the University just to find herself in some sort of festival.

"Did you hear? Min Ho is going to play soon!" A student said excited while she passed by Rei.

She followed them and before entering the Hall, she stopped by a room that had plenty of instruments and she found a cello in it. She hated the red color but again, something told her that she needed it. When she entered the Hall, she saw him standing on the stage looking a bit awkward. She frowned and walked to the stage but she soon found the reason why he was acting awkward. His song was wrong. It sounded wrong.

She couldn't help walking up the stage and took out the cello which she hoped it was already tuned. She definitely couldn't keep listening to his incomplete song. She took a deep breath and then the arc touched the strings.

The world around them disappeared, even they themselves disappeared. It was just the sound of the strings from both the piano and the cello. The puzzle finally getting its pieces where they belonged. The world once again had a reason even when she didn't know what reason that was but it was there. In the chords mingling as if they were born to be together. Her body melted and it became one with the melody. Chords of life and death joined together to create the Requiem of Life. Created by two but turning into one at the end.

It was it. Everything was right. The melody was right. Her place was right. His place was right. Their music was right. The world was right. They were right. Right for each other. And when the music ended it was like being a new person and she new it. She said it before. Lee Rei was dead and a new person was born. She just didn't know who. She was nameless. Like a newborn.

Her eyes opened and they connected with his. It was it. He had seen through her. Even when she looked different, he knew it was her, so she calmly put the cello back to its case and let things run their own way. Her feet took her out of the Hall and seconds later she smiled when she heard footsteps behind her then a hand grabbing her arm.

"Rei." So in the end, it was still going to be that name. He had called it so she couldn't run away from it. But she didn't mind. It felt right like everything else when it came out of from his lips. "Rei." His voice changed now not so sure. Was he regretting it? He didn't see through her? "Rei." He was losing confidence. He was just hoping that it was the Lee Rei he knew but she no longer existed because...

"Lee Rei is dead."

Her words felt right. She truly was but the man in front didn't think so. She knew she had to explain herself but a silhouette at the end of the hallway made her heart skip a beat. It was Eddie and he was not alone. She knew the others. They were agents. They were coming after Mino because of her. She gritted her teeth and quickly pushed Mino inside a classroom. The echo of their footsteps made her know that they were going to pass by that classroom.

She panicked. But then the surprised eyes in his face made all fear disappear. She had dragged him into this and she would keep him away from it. She put the case down and took her jacket off showing the dress from the call girl she still managed to keep. Mino looked aghast when she pushed him into a chair as she straddled him, the short dress slipping up her thighs. Their mouths crashed in a rushed and wet kiss that she maintained even when she was paying attention to the footsteps.

A grunt, a sneer and a chuckle let her know that they were seen but they just kept walking. She relaxed and stopped the kiss just to face a flustered Mino under her. His face was the epitome of disbelief and being wronged. She chuckled and rubbed her thumb on his cheek.

"Your face always shows the most interesting emotions." She whispered.

Then, she decided to take off the contacts and when she looked back at him was when she finally saw what she wanted to see. Recognition. But what she didn't expect were the arms around her waist and a face in her bosom.


	7. Together again

"Lunch's ready!" Exclaimed the oldest lady in the house, one with enough white hair but the missing of some wrinkles here and there could make her pass as a 60-year-old lady when she was already 70, poking her head into the room the old man together with the kids were in.

"Aww! Great-aunt, can't you come for us later?!" The blonde boy said. The other kids nodded enthusiastically to his idea and the old man just laughed.

"Well, you can stay here but this old bag of bones will go eat. If I didn't know well, then I would think that I'm being starved." He laughed again and the kids giggled.

"Father! How can you say that?!" The old man laughed while being helped by his daughter to stand up.

"Let's go group of hazards, you may not look forward lunch but I tell you, you won't regret it once you're before it. Now, go wash your hands and then go to the living room."

The sumptuous meal left the kids amazed and quickly looked for a spot near their grandpa to eat. Though it didn't matter if they stuck too close to each other since the table was that long to accommodate all the family comfortably. The almost 50 people, kids included, sat at the table with the patriarch of the family sitting in one end of it. The place he always claimed when they celebrated his birthday.

It had been a long life for the old man who was turning 93-years old and it not only gave him the family he had in front of him but many, many things more. He just regretted not being able to share that happiness together with his wife for a long time. It had been 65 years since he last felt her touch, heard her voice, saw her eyes and was loved by her. 65 years since she left him alone with their two kids. A girl and a boy.

How hard he worked to raise them without her, but it was all worth it. With the years, the family grew and some times, he swore he saw her in the faces of the newborns, one feature here and there, either their eyes, their nose, their ears, their lips, their cheekbones, the rounded shape of their faces, or even the smile. It hurt him but more than that he was delighted to be able to see her even when she was not there.

Such a long but rewarding life together with the noises of his family chattering with each other, laughing with each other, crying with each other and seeing year after year how a new member integrated either in the form of children or in-laws but he didn't mind. Family was family and he was grateful for the one he had and he was even more grateful to the woman that made it possible even when she couldn't enjoy it how he had.

His beautiful wife, how he missed her. His tired eyes turned to the photo above a table that had the one and only photo of them together. She hated taking pictures of herself but she loved taking pictures of their kids that's why the only one she ever accepted to be taken was the one in that high table. One together with him and the two kids fruit of their short but passionate, undying love. She may be dead but his love for her would never die. Not until he died, of course.

The constant yelling of the kids telling him to continue the story took him out of his thoughts and he smiled. How he loved telling that story and the smirks and smiles of the older ones who already knew it expressed how eager they were to listen to it one more time even when they already knew it by heart.

"Ok, ok, stop yelling, so where were we?" He asked taking a bite of his extremely soft rice. His years didn't allow him to eat food that was too solid.

"They met each other again!" Said a girl with no front teeth throwing her arms up.

"And they kissed!" Said another one with a giggle that the other kids shared.

"Kiss!" Repeated one of the youngest, a 2-year-old boy who stamped his lips on his twin making the whole table burst in laughter. The mother of the twins, sitting next to them, blushed embarrassed and happy of the love between her sons. The old man chuckled and continued narrating the story that happened way back in the past.

The lunch continued with the words of the patriarch of the family, the eldest of them all, the pillar of the whole family, the beginner of such a huge group of people that know well where they come from and accept that the matriarch is someone as important as the man telling the story that he claims happened to a friend to catch the attention of the kids.

And always at the end of it, he would show it. The room where he kept the most precious possessions in his life. Two pieces for a whole room. One that only him can enter when he pleases, that he alone cleans his possessions because they hold such an important meaning to him. The possessions that began it all. His whole life, his fame, his story, his love life.

"Ok, now that you've listened to this old man. You will appreciate art." The old man joked but the kids' eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm. Of course, since they were so young he wouldn't tell the whole story as it was, just the most important pieces, the general thing, later on he would begin telling the details.

He stood up with help from two of his many grandsons, his almost-copy Ja Ryung and another young man who has the same smile as his long deceased wife, Si Ahn. They accompanied him and the kids to the room at the end of the long hallway. The old man knew that the reason they always accompanied him was because they had a connection with the stuff that were there. They, same as the old man and his wife, play the instruments in that room. Piano and cello.

The black piano and the white cello stood in the big and well-illuminated room. As good as new. As if years were nothing for them. As if they would remain forever young just like the young couple that played them years and years ago. Every time he entered the room, he could hear it. The last song they played together when they were celebrating their sixth year together. Six years of a happy, simple and full of love life together with their kids, who at that time were 4 and 2 years old.

The same song that brought them together and saw them apart. The song they never shared with any other person that weren't family. And at that time, the only family they had were each other and their kids so it was quite an intimate song. After that last time, he never played it again. Just like the first time he played it, it felt wrong if he played it alone so he never tried. He didn't want to.

65 years of not playing or listening to that song. The song they ended up calling Chords of Life, named by her because it meant a new life for both, a life far away from all the things that kept them tied.

She didn't have many ties, and the only one she kept was the one that took her away from him but they both knew that the day would come, that didn't mean that he liked it at all, that it didn't hurt him so much that he got depressed for almost a year and the only thing that kept him going was that he promised her to raise their kids and that he had to join her when it was the right time, not any year, month, day, hour, minute or second before.

The only ties he had were his parents. The same that disowned him the day he went to present her as his girlfriend. Of course, he couldn't tell them that they were going to become grandparents because they all but threw them out of their own house. Though, instead of feeling sad or hurt, he felt free. He realized he really didn't need them, all he needed was the woman beside him and the child growing inside her.

They moved to the countryside in China. They worked as farmers and anonymous composers because they wanted to keep doing what they loved and got them together. So their life together was simple yet they didn't struggle. She had to teach him Chinese as it was impossible that the people who were their neighbors would speak English or Korean.

"Grandpa, it's time for your presents." Announced Ja Ryung taking the old man out of his thoughts. He looked at him and Si Ahn, then he looked around and found that the kids were gone. Ja Ryung laughed. "They were called for dessert. They ran away just when you were daydreaming. Thinking about your wife being naughty?" The young man wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Aish, respect this old man!" He punched the laughing youngster. "But if you so want to know, we did it almost everyday." Then it was the old man's turn to laugh thanks to the grimaces the two youngsters made.

"Come on, grandpa. Everybody is waiting for you." Said Si Ahn with the smile the old man would never grow tired of.

They took him to the pavilion at the back of the house where everybody was waiting for him to sit in the special seat prepared for him up in the pavilion where a piano and a cello rested. He looked at the youngsters with a frown on his face but all he got were grins from both. He sat on his chair and waited for whatever his grandsons prepared for him.

"Grandpa, I know you will hate me, us, for what we're going to do but after years of listening to your story and, in a way, make us get into the world of music, we decided that it was our way to say thanks for everything you've done for us. You are our inspiration and it's thanks to you that we got scholarships to an international university." Said Ja Ryung.

"We wanted to go to the same University you went back when you were young but we are not as good you were and we couldn't get in." Continued Si Ahn. The old man chuckled. It wasn't that they weren't good but the University really elevated its standards though the scholarships they got were from another prestigious university and he was still proud of them.

To follow the path of music is not easy and many of his grandchildren did it as a hobby, never as a career so he was extremely surprised to hear the two were getting a career in music because of him and his wife. The legacy of their passion for music was not over after all and a big smile came to his face for that.

Both guys took their places in each instrument. It was really curious to the old man to know that Ja Ryung's piano was white while Si Ahn's cello was black. Surely they wanted to honor him and his wife but to their own way and he inwardly thanked them for not picking the same colors. After playing some notes to check if the instruments were perfectly tuned, they looked at each other and then began to play.

Oh, they said well that he was going to hate them for it. 65 years later and he listens to it again. He immediately closed his eyes trying to feel the music. They were the same notes, the same chords, the same instruments but it felt completely different and that made him smile. It was no longer Chords of Life by Song Min Ho and Song Rei but Chords of Life by Song Ja Ryung and Jang Si Ahn.

But he was happy. The 93-year old Song Min Ho was happy to hear it again, to feel it again. He wondered what his grandsons felt while playing it, if they felt the tug, the ascension, the state where your soul comes out of your body and it gets cleansed by the notes, the feeling of everything being right. Maybe not. They put their own touch to the chords and the feeling was different.

He opened his eyes when he knew the song was coming to an end and he turned his head to his left where Si Ahn was playing the cello, his eyes watered from un shed tears and the sweetest smile they had ever seen adorned his face. He mouthed something and then rubbed his face to avoid crying in front of his whole family. The family sat quietly listening to Ja Ryung and Si Ahn and when they were done, they clapped vigorously. Ja Ryung stood up and went to hug his grandpa.

"Happy Birthday, Grandpa. And thanks for everything."

Many more greetings from his huge family came one after the other; he practically went from one person arms to another. He didn't know how much they spent congratulating him but to Mino one thing was sure. He was more than happy and proud of his family. A family composed of people of all kinds, from laid back ones like he learnt to be throughout the years, hysterical ones, happy ones, mischievous ones, problematic ones, serious ones, shy ones. A varied family indeed but what they all had in common was one thing: him.

They might be so different from each other but the one thing, or person in this case, they look up to, are proud of and love the most is the 93-year old Song MinHo.

And if the whole morning and afternoon was hectic, then the night was a complete nightmare. Kids running everywhere, mothers running after their children to put them in bed or at least get them to brush their teeth and wear their pajamas, men laughing at the antics of their own children before being chastised by their wives to help. A few grunts, more screeches from the kids and then not only women and children were running but men too. Youngsters lost in the vast, dark forest behind the house trying to prove themselves as brave ones. They end up camping near the house so their parents don't worry too much about them.

And in a corner, an old Mino watched all the things happening around him, a smile plastered on his face. Such a long journey for him. One full of hardships but more than that full of happiness and full of people around him. One more year he enjoyed spending time with them, laughing with them, listening to their troubles, their good deeds, advising them and many more times scolding them but without a doubt he loved them all, even the political family he didn't know. It was a good life, he thought.

With a sigh, he stood up and walked down that hallway he could walk with his eyes closed as he had it well engraved in his mind. He unlocked the door and opened it to walk in and then closed it behind him. His eyes fell onto the paper sheets on a small table in the corner of the room. He sat and began to scribble after reaching for a pencil. A yell and more laughter made him pause and smile until the night began to get more silent.

From time to time, he could hear the whispers of a conversation inside and outside the house. It seemed the young ones were back from their expedition and were now in their campsite. As time went on, the night turned eerie and only the sound of his pencil on the paper could be heard in that room. He was sure it was pretty late but there was one more thing he had to do.

Standing from that corner and stretching a bit until he heard his back crack, he walked to his piano. That black and shiny piano that didn't seem as old as his own person but there it was, standing all proud and without a trace of the years unlike him. He gently passed his fingers on it, feeling that smooth yet firm wood. His eyes then fell on the cello beside the piano.

He rarely touched it unless it was for cleaning it, the same as his piano but this time he wanted to really feel them. Feel the energy accumulated in them throughout years of being played day and night long time ago. Even when not used, they were as good as new and for some reason they still felt warm. Warm from all the love he and his wife devoted to the instruments as if they weren't mere things but a part of themselves, an extension of their minds, a catalyst of their desires and a window to their feelings.

So much enclosed in those instruments, such a huge meaning in his life, such a long journey.

He slid his wrinkled fingers down the strings of the cello as gentle as if he was caressing his wife. The same love, devotion and softness with which he held her during the six years of their love. Not even one day he missed to tell her he loved her, that she was the best that could ever happen to him and not a single day he missed to hold her and caress her, brush her hair and place a kiss on her lips.

A sad smile crossed his face when he saw it. That hand he held so many times more than 65 years ago. The same pale and silky hand because even when she denied it, her hands were soft to him. His fingers trailed those white and delicate fingers until they entwined and he took them to his mouth so he could lay a kiss on those small knuckles. A chuckle made him look up to encounter those blue, like the sky, eyes staring at him.

"I saw you." He whispered, his voice no longer tired or rough from his continuous usage throughout the years. It was the same deep yet gentle voice from back when he was 22 and when he first met her in that cold night in that park in Newcastle.

"I heard it." She replied, her thumb caressing the skin on his hand. She was the same with that short, black hair, those white clothes, that doll face and those incredibly blue eyes.

"Want to play?" He offered not taking his eyes off her afraid that if he did so, she would disappear.

"You know what that means, right?" Her eyes turned a bit sad but the smile on her face just reflected how happy she was to see him. That foolish smile she learnt to wear beside him because it was only with him that she was the happiest in her life.

"I do." He sighed and ventured to hug her. That small and slim body made perfectly to his body. His arms automatically rounded her and placed themselves in the same places they felt the most comfortable with. Around her waist and her middle back. "It's ok. I want to be with you. I've waited too long."

She nodded. Her head leaning on his broad chest where she used to clearly hear his heartbeat, that one that changed dramatically whenever she said something to excite him. It was fun and stimulating to her. To know that it was all because of her. Only she could make his heart beat like that.

Whenever he hugged her, she never hugged him back because she loved to be held, she loved when her body disappeared into those arms and that chest. Many years protecting herself that she only wanted to spend the rest of her life being protected.

She looked up to those sparkling eyes that belonged to her dear husband, those that were always full of love for her, the ones that reflected the purity of his soul, his childish heart and his matured mind. All in all, they reflected the unmatched existence of Song MinHo, genius pianist, her best friend, her husband, lover and father of her two children.

Her arms rounded his neck and standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him, gently and warm, with no rush, just enjoying the union of their lips. She had forgotten how it felt to kiss those plump lips, to feel the warmth they radiated and how his heartbeat rushed whenever she did so and he wasn't expecting it. Her husband was always the innocent type unless they were going further into their contact. But for now, she wanted her innocent husband.

After separating, they stared into each other's eyes for seconds that seemed minutes, then hours, months, years and lastly decades. They smiled at the same time and he nodded.

It was almost two in the morning and the group of youngsters was still awake. They chose a small clear to camp, one not that far from the house as there were still many animals around and they didn’t want to have an accident. The group of 11 youngsters between the ages of 16 and 21 were chatting about many things: school, places, women, men, food and so on.

"I really thought I would be grounded my whole life after my dad knew about him. I think he's the strictest dad in the world!" Said one of the girls.

"That's because you don't know my mom! I swear she buys new things to throw at me whenever she gets angry." Ja Ryung said a bit helpless.

"You are a lost cause Ryungie." The eldest of them all said making everybody laugh and Ja Ryung pout.

"Wait, shhh, shhh." He said all of a sudden and the rest kept quiet. "That's... a piano?" The faint notes of a piano reached their ears and almost at the same time they turned their head to the house, in it there was only one person capable of making the piano sound like that. "What's grandpa doing this late at night?"

Without saying it, they walked back to the house but they suddenly halted their steps when they heard a cello. Ja Ryung immediately searched for Si Ahn but found him behind so, who was the one playing? Then his stomach dropped when he recognized the melody. It was the same he played the day before.

But it wasn't the fact that it was the same melody but how it sounded. It wasn't the same, this one was a mix of everything in life, every experience, every feeling, every person met, every word said and finally a farewell. His heart raced, he didn't wait any more and ran to the house. The rooms in the house were lit and the doors opened showing the adults enjoying the melody but nobody heard the hidden message.

Their expressions turned confused when they saw an alarmed Ja Ryung running towards the room down the hallway and followed him just to find him banging at the door.

"Grandpa! Open the door! Grandpa, please!" He yelled in front of the door that couldn't be opened no matter how much he turned the knob.

"Ja Ryung, what's wrong? Your grandpa is just playing." Said one of his aunts behind him, an uncle trying to calm him down but he paid no attention to their words.

"Please grandpa, don't do this! Don't play it! Grandpa!" He begged on the verge of tears meanwhile in his mind all the memories together with his grandpa inevitably played. One of the twins started crying followed by his other twin and their mom went to sooth them.

Ja Ryung's begging and banging became louder and everybody around him was concerned over what was going on with him and why he didn't want his grandpa to play. They were totally oblivious of the sound of the cello.

"Grandpa!" His last scream choked when the last chord played followed by a deafening silence. The door opened on its own and the scene before the people near the door made them gasp.

In front of them, there was a faint silhouette of who they recognized as the patriarch of the house but way younger together with a young woman holding his hand and smiling at him. Many recognized her as the person in the photo back in the living room, the mother of two, the grandmother of some and the great-grandmother of many. Song Rei.

"Grandpa."Ja Ryung let out in a whisper. Song MinHo smiled at his family for the last time and then disappeared leaving behind the immobile 93-years old body laying peacefully on the ground between the piano and the cello. A smile on his face.

It wasn't until late that morning after everybody calmed down that they noticed the letters directed to each and one of them on the little table in the corner of that room.


	8. Epilogue: That Day

That day was a happy day.

It was small, short, simple and with no one to witness it except for the lawyer, the priest and the ones getting married. There were no dreams of a big party, a whole room full of invitees, chatter, a dance, music, a dress, a suit or any other person to give their blessings. There was just the soft words of the old man in charge of the ceremony, the lawyer waiting a bit impatiently for the thing to finish so they would just sign the paper and leave to do his job and the couple who looked as if there was no one else with them.

Song MinHo and Lee Rei's wedding was the most austere thing ever seen in that little town in the middle of nowhere in the vast and immense land of China.

After a quick visit to Mino's parents, who officially disowned him, in which they just yelled at him for being a stupid, reckless and good for nothing kid, the couple left the house with the little cash Mino had in his old room and without the opportunity to let them know that they were going to be grandparents.

They took a great risk going to that house in Korea. Their year of escaping without being able to settle down in a city was tiring and they were running low on money so they had no other choice. Mino wasn't expecting anything from his parents; it was actually a miracle they let him and Rei enter the house. It was not worth it though. Not at all. Or maybe the cash was the only thing worth it but them...

With that little money they could afford travelling to that little town.

Mino was completely surprised by the things Rei had to do so they could survive. Beginning with getting them false identities in some shady place he thought only existed in movies. Well, no, the place looked normal but who would have thought they did illegal stuff? Mino wouldn't. Food and a roof were a problem but only if Mino would have done it all alone. Surprisingly, she would appear with a bag of fruits and water for the both, that she would just smile if he ever asked where she got them.

Another thing he was surprised about her were the many languages she knew. He would be totally lost whenever she spoke fluently in another language but that was just another reason to love her. If it wasn't for her, he would still be a dead soul in a pretty case.

So there they were. Living a rather peaceful life in a land where all that matters is farming and that's what they became, farmers. Happy, simple farmers that forgot from time to time that maybe one day they would be found but they just prayed they wouldn't at least not until the birth of their child.

That day was a day to remember.

It happened in the middle of the night when she felt the discomfort and dull pain in her lower parts. Mino didn't waste any second and went to look for the closest neighbor they had. He had to run for almost 10 minutes at full speed until he reached a small house, just like theirs, and ask the middle-aged woman to help his wife who was giving birth.

Going to the closest town with a decent clinic was a 2-hour trip so most people in that place depended on each other and the little knowledge they had in natural medicine. So it was no surprise to see the lady almost running with him back to his house while throwing fast words that he barely understood despite having learned the language from Rei. 'Reckless kids', 'not having sense' and 'should have asked for help sooner' were some of the words he caught until they reached the house where a Rei gritting her teeth welcomed them.

The next seconds, minutes and hours passed so fast for Mino to know what really was happening. He just moved according to the orders of the lady that sent him for this thing and that other. He was forgetting even why he was there and what he was waiting for until a cry woke him from his reverie.

It was then that he noticed he was holding Rei's hand and his fingers were going a bit numb from the pressure she exerted but the cry didn't come from her. It was hard for Rei to really do so and even if that was a bit saddening to Mino, it actually gave him strength, the necessary one to keep going. No. The cry wasn't from her but from the baby that had just come to the world. It was bloody, blotted and the crying promised lots of headaches in the future but at the same time it was the most perfect, beautiful and innocent thing in the world.

He would have cried. Well, he did let some tears roll but he stopped the others when he felt the delicate figure in his arms. He had to get himself together for God's sake! He was a father now! Such a frightening yet so pleasant thought. Of course he was scared, he wasn't even 25 and his first child was already born. Long time ago, his plan was to have children in his late thirties; an ideal age, according to him, but now, he wanted to have more.

He didn't know if he was going to be a good father for the one he was carrying, but he wanted more.

He looked down at his tired, panting and sweaty wife and kissed her. God, how he loved her. He loved her for who she was, for who she wasn't, for who she was going to be, for giving him a child, for being such a lovely woman, friend and wife, for being with him despite his weak self. Yes, he admitted she was the pillar in the house. He was just the funny guy but he knew she loved him for that and for other things she refused to reveal.

And being a parent WAS difficult after all. Even when they were used to waking up early to tend to their land, they were always tired with the adding of a crying baby. But they were happy with having a crying baby, with changing dirty diapers, feeding the baby, doing the impossible to make her sleep and with gazing at her when she was peacefully laying in her cot.

"She's so beautiful." She murmured to herself but in the quiet of the night, Mino heard it well.

"We make beautiful babies. Maybe we can make three or four more." He said hugging her waist possessively, which made her laugh. She did that often with him. Laugh.

"Sure thing, if you're the one who carries them. I'm the one who gets fat, mad, emotional and all."

"I would do it if I was able to. I would do anything for you." He kissed her temple.

"Is that so?" She asked amused to which he hummed in reply. "Then, go be a good husband and wash the dishes." She chuckled at his defeated sigh and he went to do the chore after kissing her and leaving her gazing at their daughter.

She was almost ecstatic every day she saw her baby and whenever she touched that plump cheek or those tiny fingers she still couldn't believe that it was her who gave life to such a little person. Surely, with everything that happened to her; all those times she used her body to pleasure unknown men for the sake of a mission, all those times she got so hurt she thought she was going to die and all those times she took hundreds of medicine, alcohol and even drugs for the sake of people that never cared for her, it was truly a miracle she could conceive. A miracle indeed, a special one.

She was so in love with her new child that she would almost forget that she had a husband too, though that was another child she had to take care of, and she would always laugh whenever she saw the pout that formed on his face when she said that to him. But then a pleasant twist in her stomach would make her stop laughing the moment she saw that spark in his eyes and that indulgent smile on his face. Her heart would beat so fast and a blush would appear in her cheeks when he would say 'I love you' to her and kiss her with such tenderness that she would feel embarrassed.

It was hard to get used to being treated so sweetly, so tenderly, so gently as if she was a porcelain doll but she loved it. It made her think that her past life was just a bad dream and that she had always been treated with the utmost care by him. She loved him so much it pained her. It pained her not meeting him years ago. Maybe her life would have been different. Maybe not. But perhaps like that she would have been stronger.

Because she was weak. She never contradicted Mino when he said she was strong and that it was because of her that they were alive and well, but deep inside her it was a lie. She was weak, so weak that she felt pathetic. It was him that gave her strength. Him and his laugh, his smile, his eyes, his hugs, his kisses, his soul, his existence. It was laughable to her how much she depended in those little gestures, the words, the looks and the smiles that came from him.

She would never ask for any proof of his love because she knew that he only had eyes for her. She would feel it in the way he held her that even her skin tingled. She would feel it in the kisses that always took her breath away no matter how short or long. In those eyes that would see her like the most perfect creation in the world just for him to possess despite the many scars; but he would just caress and accept them as a part of her and that never stopped him from loving her. She saw in in every single thing he would say and do for her.

She was the happiest with him.

That day was one full of dreams.

Their daughter was almost 2 and they were given the news that she was pregnant again. At first, both were shocked but then their faces looked almost about to rip from the huge smiles that they celebrated in a way that pleased both of them. Buying a piano and a cello.

The past year they spent it composing anonymously for many musicians that they collected a pretty sum of money with which they bought their instruments. A black piano and a white cello. The new acquisitions looked pompous in their humble house and almost covered their living room but they didn't mind. It was something they needed. To make music, to connect with it and connect their souls through it. Because even when the sex was amazing, it was music that really got them together and it was more intimate for them.

Every day, for some hours music would come out from the little house, either from a piano or a cello, or both, but music anyway. It was a fortune houses were a big distance apart from each other as the sound would bother their neighbors or gather unwanted attention. Personally, they loved it more when it was just them three- four if they counted the unborn child- that listened the music they considered 'not apt for outsiders'.

With the additional income from composing they made more money than with the crops they sowed but they generally just shared what they reaped with their neighbors. Nobody around them knew they had enough money to buy a bigger and better house than the one they were living in but they didn't want to. They loved the peace the small village provided to them. Even when the cries of their kid didn't make it that peaceful.

It didn't come as a surprise when their little girl started taking interest in the piano. Or so they thought since she always laughed and clapped whenever Mino played it. It was what she lately listened to since Rei's belly was so big she couldn't play the cello properly and was forbidden to do any movement at all. She always deemed her husband as dramatic but if she thought about it he had a good reason to be.

From the last week of her seventh month her feet started swelling horribly and sometimes she couldn't move but that passed after two weeks. Still, he enjoyed taking care of her and their child that it was almost all he did day and night, even the cooking and cleaning. Those weeks he became a full-time housewife, as she called him, but they were two weeks of utmost happiness for him. She would chuckle whenever she remembered those weeks but a pleasant warmth would pool in her chest when the memory came to her mind.

The birth of their second kid came when they were in the city buying new music sheets, strings for cello and piano and some groceries, so this time they could go to a proper clinic and receive decent attention. Both their kids came as a surprise when it came to gender, but they couldn't be happier when they knew their new kid was a boy.

And it was curious that he looked so much like Rei that it could be said he was her carbon copy. Of course, only they knew her original features and that's why they could do the comparison.

That little house couldn't have been noisier with a new crying baby and a girl that wanted to say all the words in the world as if she could never have enough.

That day was a day that should never have happened.

Mino was getting ready to go to the city and deliver some of the new songs they composed. It was always a family thing to do but their little boy was with fever and they didn't want to expose him in the trip so Rei decided to stay with him and their daughter. She definitely didn't like letting Mino go alone to the city. What with those vultures trying to flirt with her husband.

Really, if possible she would have him leashed so he wouldn't leave her side. She didn't know when she began to be that possessive of him but she greatly disliked the way other women looked at him. She admitted that the more he aged the better he got and it was extremely hard for her not to seek him for a kiss or a hug but truly, she would be completely lost without him after almost 6 years of being together.

"What time are you coming back?" She asked while eyeing him tie his shoelaces. She glanced at the clock hanging in their living room and noticed it was barely 7am

"I'll try coming back before 2pm. You need something so I can buy it on the way?" A shake of head was his answer when he looked at her. Then, she glued herself to his chest silently asking for a hug which he readily gave. She smiled in his warm arms. Totally one of her favorite places.

"Don't let those women look at you too much." She mumbled in his chest feeling the vibrations of his laugh.

"Let them look. I'm all yours anyway." That reply pleased her immensely that she felt her confidence rise to new levels. That's right, he's all mine, she thought, a smirk forming in her lips. She finally let him go with a kiss that made him shiver.

Her day began between checking her son, making breakfast for her 4-year-old daughter that was in high spirits that morning and then releasing the little terror in the field behind the house. It was after lunch at noon that everything changed for the worse.

Her son was fast asleep after eating and taking his medicine while Rei was washing the used dishes and listening to her daughter slowly playing one of the easiest song to play in the piano. She was looking out of the window in case she could spot Mino before he reached the house but what she caught made her stomach drop and her heart tighten. A car was coming down the dusty main street. A car she knew just too well.

She left what she was doing with a curse and immediately snatched her daughter from the piano carrying her to the room where her brother was laying. She ignored the questions from her daughter and just asked her not to say a word. She unwillingly woke her son and blue eyes locked with hers. Without much thinking she took them to the cellar under their house where they saved the furniture they didn't use, and stacks of grains and other preserved food.

"What's wrong Mommy?" Her daughter asked one last time seeing how serious and anxious Rei looked.

"Do as I say please. Do you promise me?" Both kids nodded to their Mom. She sighed. "No matter what, do not say a word, do not make a noise, do not move from here. If anything, wait until you father comes back so you can get out of here. Understand?" She directed the question to her daughter that could understand more than her brother. The little girl nodded.

"Is this like playing hide-and-seek?" Rei smiled at the innocence of her boy. She patted his feverish head and gave them both a tight hug. It took her all the will in her to let them go and not to cry. She knew that if they saw nobody in the house then they would start searching and she didn't have time to go anywhere else. They would have been seen anyway and she wasn't going to risk the life of her kids.

"Yes, it's like hide-and-seek but this time you have to be almost invisible if you want to win. You'll get your favorite food for dinner if you do so." Their happy smiles was something she would forever treasure now more than ever since she didn't know what was to come. A lie. She knew well but didn't want to think about it. She kissed their heads one more time and left the cellar after a soft 'I love you' came out of her mouth.

Next, she arranged the house to make it seem as if she was alone, she couldn't hide the signs that she had a family but she could make it as if they hadn't been there for a long time. Just when she was done cleaning the kids' room a knock came from the front door. She swallowed and remembered all her training making her face as impassive as possible when she opened the door.

"You really are impressive Lee Rei." Said a man she didn't know nor remember. Someone new, she thought. "My life was on the line if I couldn't find you. Sure enough, your previous partner couldn't save himself. You are a bad person, making others go to their death." She didn't comment anything while two other men looked around her house without much luck. "It seems they aren't here." The man said with a clear tone of disappointment.

"They aren't." At that time it wasn't advisable to lie. She knew they were aware of her family. "It's just you, me and whatever you want to do." The man snapped his fingers and the other two stopped their search. Obviously, their main target was the woman in front of them so there was no need to bother with little nuisances.

"Take her out." He simply said and Rei was dragged to the back of the field. Sure, she was their target but they didn't want any meddlesome police behind them and they didn't fear that man of hers. After all, if he did something stupid, they would find him and end his life in mere seconds. So they hoped he was smart enough.

They reached a field full of wild shubbery, completely hidden from prying eyes and without much delicacy they threw her to the ground, then came what she expected; well, the second thing she expected. The kicks and punches hurt. They were vicious and if some of her bones broke, she didn't mind at all. She wasn't going to give them what they wanted. If they expected her to scream and beg for her life, then they were going to face disappointment.

After more than 30 minutes of physical torture that limited to punches and kicks to her relief, the two big men stopped, panting and sweating. Rei was on the verge of passing out due to a concussion but fought to remain conscious. Her whole body hurt and many bones were broken, her face was bloody and was starting to swell. She was having trouble breathing as every time air entered her body a sharp pain circulated throughout it. Her bottom lip was utterly destroyed due to her constant biting to prevent screaming.

But even like that, she felt like she was in Heaven. She had received worse tortures than that, the last one before she escaped being the most horrible. Still, they didn't come to break her bones and give her a concussion. No, they came for something else and the more she thought about it the more her regret grew.

"Anything you want to say?" The man asked taking out a gun. She just smiled and looked up to the clear sky a tear falling down her cheek when she thought of Mino. "Ok, then."

'I'm sorry' was her last thought.

Mino never thought their house would ever be that silent at that hour, so the first thing that came to his mind was that they were playing with him. But after 15 minutes of not finding anybody, he began to worry so he began to call out for them. The soft giggles of her daughter told him where they were so he hurriedly walked towards the entrance of the cellar, ready to scold them for being there but he didn't manage to utter a word when he noticed they were almost completely hidden in a corner.

His son was asleep and still with a fever, his daughter was trying her best to muffle her giggles. He picked his boy up and gave his hand to her girl and took them out of it walking to the living room.

"Where's your mother?"

What was a simple question became his worst nightmare when his daughter began to tell him what had happened what seemed to be like one hour ago. His face distorted and his mind became possessed by a fear he didn't know he was possible to feel so without thinking about the kids in front of him he ran out of the house looking for her.

Given the situation, he couldn't ask the neighbors for help and he didn't want to subject his children to any horror so he looked for her alone. The task was hard since the place was really big. As he was about to give up, he came across her body. He didn't know how long he stood there looking at the state of her body, her face and more than anything her life.

Finally, a sob broke through his throat, tears fell and then a shout filled the air. He all but threw himself to her mangled body, clutching it tightly to his chest not caring about the blood that began to smear on his shirt, wailing her name and many other muffled words while rocking the body that was beginning to grow cold. He screamed and wailed until he tore his throat but it was not compared to his torn heart.

Why? Why her? Why his wife? Why his best friend? Why his lover? Why the mother of his children? Why the first and only person in the world he was going to love? Why his dream come true? Why his Rei? Why?

Between his grief over the loss of his wife, the cold body of Lee Rei whose last thought was an apology to her own loss of never seeing her family ever again. That day was also a day to grieve the loss of a life that was only 1-week-old inside her that neither knew even until the end of his life.


End file.
